2016-07-27

JERUSALEM, Oct. 30 (AP)--Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak won a temporary reprieve in parliament Monday and warned Palestinians there would "be no reward for violence." Nearby, one Israeli was killed in Jerusalem, a second was found dead on the city's outskirts and clashes in Palestinian areas persisted.

Barak opened parliament's winter session as the leader of a minority government: Most of his coalition partners pulled out over concessions he offered the Palestinians, and he now has only 30 of the 120 parliament members in his coalition.

Nonetheless, his small coalition appeared to be safe from collapse for at least the next few weeks. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Israel's third-largest, said it would support him for the next month, and hawkish opposition leader Ariel Sharon told parliament he still hadn't given up on the idea of joining an emergency coalition with Barak's government.

In the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Barak pledged to continue to work for peace but charged that the Palestinians have failed to keep agreements to stop the violence.

He said the Palestinians missed an opportunity at the July summit with President Clinton, when Clinton made "far-reaching proposals" to solve the conflict. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "failed the test," Barak said, choosing violence instead of making difficult decisions for peace.

Barak warned Arafat that he "would gain nothing through violence."

"Neither will you," shouted Issam Mahoul, one of 10 Arab lawmakers in the legislature, all of them angry over the deaths of Israeli Arabs during recent riots. Mahoul and several other Arab legislators stood up and heckled Barak and Sharon during their speeches.

Just hours before parliament convened, an assailant, apparently a Palestinian, opened fire at point-blank range on two Israeli guards at the National Insurance Institute office in the predominantly Arab section of east Jerusalem. One was killed and the other critically wounded. It marked the first time an Israeli had been killed in the city since the violence began more than a month ago.

The shooting followed another grisly slaying on Jerusalem's southern fringe.

Palestinians found the body of an Israeli who had been missing for two days from Gilo, a Jewish neighborhood that has come under frequent gunfire from the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Jalla. Israeli authorities identified the victim as Amos Makhluf, 30. Police said he was stabbed to death after he was tied up. The Arabic words "Allahu Akbar"--God is great--were carved into his back with a knife, Israeli television reported.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces and Palestinians fought in several locations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with more than 30 Palestinians wounded. And two Palestinian brothers--Bilal and Hilal Abu Salah, 20 and 19--were buried side-by-side in an emotional funeral a day after they were shot and killed within hours of each other outside the West Bank city of Jenin.

Late Monday, an Israeli attack helicopters unleashed missile attacks on offices of Arafat's Fatah movement in retaliation for the killings of two Israelis.

Israel issued warnings to clear the four offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip before firing missiles, Israel television said. The missiles set off fires, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

In 33 days of violence, 143 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed, and thousands have been wounded.

Arafat gave no sign of ordering an end to the violence. In Gaza, he declared: "Until Jerusalem, until Jerusalem, until Jerusalem, the capital of our independent Palestinian state."

Clinton talked to Barak for 35 minutes by telephone Sunday night, said White House spokesman Jake Siewert. He said they discussed ways to stop the violence. Clinton also talked to Arafat on Sunday.

Barak aide Gilead Sher said a time-out in the peace talks declared by Barak because of the riots is almost over, and decisions on the next step will be made public soon.

Sher said Clinton's proposals could still be "viable ideas" if the Palestinians accept them as a basis for further talks. However, the main Israeli opposition Likud party rejects the Camp David ideas and refuses to join Barak's minority government unless he renounces them.

Barak did not mention a unity government in his speech, but he has continued to have contacts with Sharon, who followed the prime minister to the podium in parliament. Sharon said Israel is in the midst of a national emergency because of the Palestinian riots and damage to Israel's standing in the world.

"There are threats everywhere, and Israeli appears weak though it is strong," said Sharon, whose visit to a disputed religious shrine in Jerusalem on Sept. 28 is cited by Palestinians as the trigger of the current violence. Israel says the Palestinians used the visit as an excuse for violence that was already planned.

In July, Barak reportedly offered the Palestinians the Gaza Strip, more than 90% of the West Bank, and control over parts of east Jerusalem for a Palestinian state. Sharon said Monday it is urgent for Israelis to agree on how they would respond if the Palestinians unilaterally declared statehood. He said Israel must keep territory that is vital to its security.

Arafat has hinted the statehood declaration could come Nov. 15, the anniversary of an earlier symbolic declaration of independence. However, he said the decision would be made by the Palestinian National Council.

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