Israel to Retake Palestinian Lands until Attacks End

Responding to a suicide bombing that killed 19 bus passengers and wounded dozens in Jerusalem, Israel said on Wednesday that it would retake Palestinian lands until terrorist attacks end.

The government’s decision was followed by army raids into 3 West Bank cities of Jenin, Nablus and Qalqilya, where Israeli troops arrested 7 suspects of militia members and imposed curfew in some areas.

According to foreign presses such as the AP, the retaliation came as U.S. president George Bush planned to deliver a speech on his Middle East policy.

The Israelis said in a statement that they will “capture Palestinian Authority territory and these areas will be held by Israel as long as terror continues.” They also vowed, “Additional acts of terror will lead to taking of additional areas."

Earlier on June 18, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had late-night consultations with his cabinet members including defense minister and senior security officials to discuss ways to retaliate for the suicide attack, and said Israel was changing its response to "murderous acts of terror."

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Bush is expected to propose on June 24 establishing a provisional Palestinian state in September and completing negotiations over permanent borders within three years.

The paper said that Bush would propose a new direction in the deadlocked peace talks, provided that there had been progress in revamping Palestinian security forces and reducing violence against Israelis. He hopes the proposal will be adopted in a Middle East peace conference set for September, WP added.

Sung-Kyu Kim kimsk@donga.com