The triple suicide bombing that ripped through central Jerusalem yesterday afternoon has shredded the last vestiges of partnership between the Israeli government and Mr Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, has suspended all contacts with the Palestinians, cancelling a scheduled meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security officials last night, and his Justice Minister spoke of sending Israeli troops into Palestinian areas to prevent further bombings.
Still, President Clinton said that a peacemaking mission to the region next week by his Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, would still go ahead.
Three suicide bombers, standing yards apart on Jerusalem's main Bain Yehudah outdoor pedestrian mall, blew themselves up within a few seconds of each other a little after 3 p.m. yesterday, killing at least four civilians and injuring close to 200. The attackers, one of whom was dressed as a woman, struck just five weeks after two suicide bombers - still unidentified - detonated explosive devices in the nearby Mahane Yehudah vegetable market.
As with that blast, the Gaza-based Hamas Islamic extremist movement took responsibility for yesterday's attack. In a statement, Hamas gave Israel a stark ultimatum: either it releases Hamas prisoners and other Arab inmates from its jails within the next 10 days, or it faces further bombings.
Israel has sealed off the West Bank and Gaza, and is also blockading the individual Arafat-controlled cities within the West Bank. Mr Netanyahu indicated that further measures would soon be taken. Although Mr Arafat yesterday denounced the bombers, declaring that "I completely condemn these terrorist activities", Mr Netanyahu castigated the Palestinian Authority President for recently embracing and kissing Hamas leaders at a national unity conference.
The chairman, said Mr Netanyahu, was guilty of signalling to the Islamic extremists that they should act against Israel, and this was a situation Israel could not tolerate. "We are not prepared to go on this way," he said. "From now on, our way will be different."
While Mr Netanyahu, who came to power last year promising "a secure peace", was reluctant to spell out the steps being contemplated, his Justice Minister, Mr Tsachi Hanegbi, was not. Mr Hanegbi said it was now clear that the Oslo accords - the basis of peace efforts these past four years - did not work, because Mr Arafat was not prepared to act against the extremists.
Therefore, he said, Israel would have to send forces into Arafat-controlled territory to tackle the bombers, to ensure that "all the leaders of Islamic Jihad and Hamas" were living "in constant fear for their lives".
David Horovitz is the managing editor of the Jerusalem Report
Reuter reports:
Mr Arafat said Israel had grounded his helicopter, effectively confining him to the Gaza Strip, following the bombing. "I was informed by the Israelis that my helicopter can't leave. I can't leave Gaza for the cabinet meeting in Ramallah. Do you believe it?" he told a CBS News correspondent, Ed Bradley, in an interview in his Gaza office.
Mr Arafat had been due to fly across Israel to the West Bank town of Ramallah this morning to attend a cabinet meeting later in the evening.
His flights, in a Russian-built helicopter, are co-ordinated with Israeli security and aviation authorities under the interim peace deals signed since 1993.
It was the second time the Netanyahu government grounded Mr Arafat's helicopter. The first time was when Palestinians took to the streets to protest in September against Mr Netanyahu's opening of a new entrance to a tourist tunnel in Arab East Jerusalem.
Jordan condemned the bombing but said more diplomatic efforts should be exerted to save the region's peace process.