Israel Takes a Hard Line in Wake of Drive-By Deaths

Reacting to the first lethal terrorist attack in Israel since he assumed power last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government took a hard line Friday, hinting that Israel might have to go into Palestinian-controlled areas to hunt down the attackers.

“There will be absolutely no compromise in the war against terrorism and no restrictions on our security forces,” the government said in a statement late Friday after an overnight drive-by shooting that left two Israelis dead. Israel sealed off the West Bank after the incident.

A third victim was fighting for his life after the car he and the others were in was riddled with bullets on an isolated rural road near the “Green Line” that separates Israel from the West Bank, much of which Israel has now ceded to Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority.

The attack mirrored an assault that left an Israel couple dead in the same vicinity six weeks ago. Ballistics experts said it appears the same types of automatic weapons were used. Authorities suspect the involvement of a cell of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In his election campaign, Netanyahu slammed his rival, then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres, for relying on Arafat’s Palestinian forces to ensure the security of Israelis. He promised voters that his tough measures would better protect them from terrorist attacks.

Netanyahu’s statement after the shooting said new measures would be taken to improve security, but it did say outright that troops would be sent into Palestinian areas.

Internal Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani, who visited the scene of the shooting 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem, demanded that the Palestinian Authority “find the [terrorist] squadron. They are in your territory. . . . Imprison them so we can get on with the business of cooperation and making peace.”

But Arafat said the closure of the West Bank, which prevents 1 million Palestinian residents from entering Israel, was a breach of understandings with Israel. The closure came just three days after Israel had reopened crossing points for the first time since a wave of suicide bombings terrorized Israel in February and March.

Arafat spokesman Nabil abu Rudaineh called the closure “a barbaric act, a provocation and an act of revenge. How can the closure lead to an end of such attacks when it prevents the Palestinian people from making their daily bread?”

In a further show of toughness, the Israeli Cabinet sent a message Friday demanding that the Palestinian Authority close three governmental offices it is allegedly operating in East Jerusalem and withdraw all Palestinian security forces from the city.