Arafat warns of a new Sykes Picot while Sharon hopes to withdraw from Gaza
One Israeli settler was killed and two wounded in an attack launched by Palestinian resistance near one Israeli settlement in the West Bank, the first since three weeks, while the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, expressed his hope to withdraw from Gaza.
A military source said that Palestinians opened fire at an Israeli car near Talmoun settlement, to the northern west of Ramullah, and this resulted in killing one Israeli and wounding two. This is the first Israeli to be killed in an attack by Palestinians since a suicide attack took place on December 25th near Tel Aviv.
Meantime, the Israeli occupation army continued incursion operations inside Toulkarem area, and detained on Monday evening 20 Palestinians suspected to be involved in attacks against Israel. Israeli sources said that one of these Palestinians was detained in Toulkarem camp, and was preparing to carry out a suicide attack in Israel.
Palestinian security and Israeli military sources said that one Palestinian was killed yesterday during a fire exchange with Israeli soldiers near Rafah, to the south of Gaza. Palestinian sources said that the fire exchange took place at the outskirts of Rafah Yaam settlement.
Israeli security sources said that two mortars shells fell yesterday at one of the settlement in the complex of Ghoushe Katif settlement, to the south of Gaza, but no casualties or damage were reported.
Palestinian security and medical sources said that 6 young Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli soldiers bullets in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military radio said that Sharon remarked on the possibility of the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza. Sharon said in a speech he had addressed to Arab soldiers in the Israeli army that "I hope that there will be a day when we will not be obliged to stay in Gaza, so as our soldiers to be free to devoting themselves to vivid activities."
The Palestinian president Yasser Arafat warned against a new "Sykes Picot" to divide the Arab states. Arafat told journalists in Ramullah "After we, the Palestinians, had paid the price for the Sykes Picot treaty, in the frame of which the state of Israel was established, we are today standing on the doors of a similar new agreement."
Arafat deplored the "International silence towards the daily crimes committed by the occupation forces against the Palestinians people." He wondered why the world was angered when the Taliban movement destroyed the Buddha statues, while nobody interfered when the statue for Virgin may was destroyed in Bethlehem after it was hit by 13 missiles."