West Asia: Blasts expose fragility of truce

JERUSALEM, JULY 2. An Israeli motorist was killed in a shooting attack and two car bombs blew up in central Israel on Monday, a day after three Palestinian militants were killed by missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter.

The violence was the deadliest since a shaky U.S.- brokered ceasefire took effect June 13, raising concern that Washington's mediation was collapsing.

The U.N. West Asia envoy, Mr. Terje Larsen, generally optimistic about peace prospects, was gloomy. ``The events of the last couple of days show how fragile the ceasefire is, and all indications are now that it will not hold,'' said Mr. Larsen after meeting the Palestinian leader, Mr. Yasser Arafat. ``It's now incredibly important for all parties concerned to hold back.'' The Israeli motorist was near the Arab village of Baka al Gharbieh in Israel, very close to the West Bank, said the army. The victim, a resident of the northern Israeli community of Zichron Yaakov, was outside his car when he was shot.

Even after the truce took effect, Palestinian gunmen persistently targeted Israeli motorists. More than two dozen Israelis have been killed in roadside shootings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in more than nine months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Attacks on motorists in Israel have been rare.

Earlier on Monday, two car bombs blew up simultaneously in the working class town of Yehud in central Israel. The blasts, about 500 meters apart, blew out windows on nearby parked cars and damaged a building, but no one was hurt.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical Palestinian group, claimed responsibility, saying the blasts came in revenge for Sunday night's helicopter attack.

An Israeli Cabinet Minister, Mr. Matan Vilnai, said the explosions would delay the start of the weeklong test period of the truce.

Mr. Arafat, meanwhile, said the Sunday night killings of the three Palestinians were a ``severe violation of the ceasefire''.

Also Monday, the military announced that the armed forces chief, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, cut short his visit to the United States. The army said Gen. Mofaz had completed his meetings with U.S. defence officials and gave no reason for his early return.

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Section  : International
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