U.S. Targets in Mideast May Be Attacked, Palestinian Warns

A pro-PLO Palestinian leader in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip said Saturday that U.S. targets in the region might be attacked as anti-American sentiment intensifies.

“I’m thinking of people who will just want to express their anger, both against American symbols and American institutions,” Palestinian intellectual Sari Nusseibeh said in an interview. He said he and others who have urged restraint are becoming increasingly isolated.

Palestinians are angered by Washington’s veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a council-appointed team to be sent to the occupied lands to report on Israeli abuses.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Don Cofman said U.S. officials “are aware of the mood in the territories,” but he declined to comment when asked whether additional steps had been taken to protect Americans.

Nusseibeh, described by Israel as one of the leaders behind the 30-month Palestinian uprising, said young Arab activists are increasingly pressing for more violence against Israel.

He said the Arabs in the occupied lands are rapidly losing hope that a peace settlement can be reached. He blamed hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who has rejected U.S. proposals for a Palestinian-Israeli dialogue.

“There is going to be a rapid deterioration into a cycle of bloodshed and violence,” Nusseibeh said.

“I believe more and more Palestinians will turn to using guns and explosives. I assume that the Unified Leadership will probably go with the people,” said Nusseibeh, referring to the underground umbrella group of various PLO factions coordinating the uprising.