Gaza City, December 3, 2001.
Israeli helicopters today destroyed Yasser Arafat’s presidential residence and offices in a missile strike in Gaza City, while the Palestinian leader was out of Gaza, an AFP correspondent on the scene said.
The helicopters also fired around 10 missiles at Mr Arafat’s heliport in here and destroyed two helicopters and damaged the third one. Mr Arafat is left without a single working helicopter, Palestinian security officials said.
The strike came just hours after hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rushed home to weigh a response to a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings launched against his country while he was in Washington.
“The Gaza attack is a clear message we are sending to Mr Yasser Arafat that the games are over and we hold him responsible for the recent attacks,” a senior army officer said on Israeli Radio.
Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have descended en masse on Palestinian areas in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority said in a statement today, without giving further detail.
WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday said “Israel has a right to defend itself,” as Israeli helicopters pounded Palestinian sites after a string of weekend suicide bombings that killed more than 20 Israelis.
Asked whether US President George W. Bush was sympathetic to the Israeli decision to retaliate, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters: “Obviously, Israel has a right to defend itself, and the President understands that clearly.”
The White House said Israel and Yasser Arafat must continue to pursue dialogue while emphasising that the Palestinian leader must show “in deeds” that he wants peace.
DUBAI: The Palestinian Authority has called on the USA to intervene following Israel’s raids on the Gaza Strip, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told Abu Dhabi television on Monday.
“I spoke to the Americans minutes after the raids started. They said they would do their best (to stop them), but didn’t say more,” Mr Erakat said. AFP, Reuters
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