Six Israelis were killed in a West Bank shooting attack last night, and nine Palestinians, including five civilians, were killed yesterday in gun-battles and reprisals by Israeli warplanes, as the Middle East conflict appeared to be spiralling out of control.
The six, who were shot dead by Palestinian gunmen at an Israeli army roadblock west of Ramallah, brought to 10 the number of Israelis killed in just 24 hours. Palestinian security forces, anticipating a fiersome Israeli response to the attack, cleared out of their barracks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last night.
Two of the Palestinians died when Israeli planes attacked a Hamas office in the Gaza Strip, what the Israeli army said was retaliation for the killing of four Israelis on Monday. Two other gunmen also died in the Strip in clashes with Israeli troops. Palestinian hospital officials said three civilians were killed by Israeli tank shellfire on Monday night in the Khan Younis refugee camp by an Israeli tank shell.
Another two Palestinians were killed during an undercover Israeli operation near Nablus in the West Bank and a suicide bomber died.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, who is to discuss Israel's response to the spiralling violence with leading ministers this morning, is under intense pressure from right-wing elements in his government to crush the Palestinian Authority of President Yasser Arafat, and even to reoccupy Palestinian towns.
Over the last week, Palestinian attacks have focused on soldiers and Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied territories. This fact, some observers suggested yesterday, is part of a Palestinian strategy of intensifying pressure on Mr Sharon in a bid to rip apart his national unity government, which includes the center-left Labour Party.
The logic: attacks on Israeli targets inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip will serve to increase even further the pressure on the prime minister from the Jewish settlers and their political backers in the government to take action unacceptable to the Labour Party.
Before last night's attack, sources in the prime minister's office were quoted saying he did not plan to fundamentally alter his anti-terror policy. Some observers have suggested that his reticence to substantially step up the military response, is due to a US request that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not interfere with its plans to launch an assault on Iraq.
Israeli army bulldozers demolishing Palestinian homes near where the Gaza attack took place were halted in their tracks yesterday by the High Court, which issued a temporary injunction until it can hear a petition filed by 15 of the residents later this week. One of 20 homes scheduled for demolition was destroyed before the injunction was issued.
The Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, one of the few Israeli leaders to retain belief in a negotiated route out of the conflict, yesterday described as "interesting and positive" a proposal by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah for full normalisation of relations with Israel, in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, expressed "dismay" at the violence. "Both sides know what needs to be done. They should take the necessary steps immediately and pursue security and political steps in parallel. No other solution is possible."