Analysis: Bombing In Tel Aviv; Israeli Raid In Gaza; Possible Meeting Of Israeli And Palestinian Officials; Arafat's Attempt At Political Rehabilitation; Possible Movement Of Israeli Settlements

Morning Edition: December 11, 2003

BOB EDWARDS, host:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Bob Edwards.

A bomb went off today in central Tel Aviv in Israel. First reports say there are at least three people dead, a dozen wounded. Earlier in the day Israeli soldiers raided a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians say four people were killed, 17 wounded. The Israeli army says its troops were pursuing a wanted Palestinian militant and returned Palestinian gunfire. This latest violence comes amid a flurry of meetings and public comments aimed at moving the Middle East political process forward. Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met yesterday with the Egyptian president in Geneva and then with the Palestinian foreign minister in Rome. NPR's Peter Kenyon is in Jerusalem.

What more do you know about this bombing in Tel Aviv?

PETER KENYON reporting:

Well, the details are still coming in, but it now appears that it may not have been a Palestinian suicide attack. The blast went off in downtown Tel Aviv, not far from a currency exchange shop and a popular cafe. The total of the wounded is still climbing and may rise further from the initial reports of more than a dozen. It occurred during lunch hour in a busy business district. Israel police initially said they were treating it as a terrorist attack, but now they're saying it may have had a criminal motive. There was a suspected leader of organized crime in the area, and this may have been an attempt on his life.

EDWARDS: And the raid in Gaza, who were the Israelis after then?

KENYON: The army says they were after an Islamic Jihad member, and they did arrest him. Palestinian witnesses and doctors on the scene in the Rafah camp down along the border with Egypt say one gunman was wounded, and several civilians were also wounded. One of those injured included a critically injured 12-year-old boy. And the army says its soldiers were returning incoming Palestinian gunfire.

EDWARDS: There's been talk of a meeting soon between Israeli's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qureia. And it's been delayed for some time.

KENYON: It's been delayed most immediately because of the failure of the Palestinians and the Egyptians to come to terms on a Palestinian cease-fire. The Palestinians, of course, want the Israelis to participate in that. There's been a series of these meetings, as you mentioned in the introduction to this. It's tricky, however, to find any consistent thread that suggests any real forward movement. We've had several ad hoc peace efforts lately, and now we're seeing some official activity being thrown into the mix. There was calls yesterday in Rome for new talks between the Israelis and Palestinians without preconditions. But at the same time, Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, has had some quite harsh comments about the Israeli barrier in the West Bank. He told an Israeli paper that, `If Israel wanted to build it on 67 borders, the Palestinian Authority would help pay for it. But if the intent is to annex Palestinian land,' he said, `fires will burn and terror will increase.'

EDWARDS: And Yasser Arafat is making another bid for political rehabilitation.

KENYON: Well, both The New York Times and the Israeli paper Ha'Aretz were given summaries of statements by Yasser Arafat that refer to his `recognition of and respect for the Jewish religion and Jewish historical ties to Palestine.' Those are his words. This was in response to a question about whether Arafat recognized the Jewish nature of Israel. That's a crucial point for those Israelis who suspect that Arafat intends to eradicate the Jewish state, despite his repeated endorsement of two states in the region. These remarks, of course, unlikely to end those suspicions. And Israelis says Prime Minister Sharon is unlikely to reverse his policy of not dealing directly with Arafat.

EDWARDS: But what's this about Sharon suggesting the Jewish settlements in the occupied territories may have to be moved?

KENYON: These comments are coming at the same time. He's talking about unilateral action by Israel; he calls it a `last resort.' They still infuriate the Israeli settler movement and also have been criticized by the Bush administration, which says an imposed solution won't work.

EDWARDS: NPR's Peter Kenyon in Jerusalem. Copyright ©2003 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.

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