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by James Bennet
The New York Times, March 9, 2002
Gaza City, March 8 -- On the
deadliest day in 17 months of fighting, Israeli forces killed at least 36
Palestinians today with fire from land, sea and air after five Israeli
teenagers died in a Palestinian's suicidal rampage through a settlement
south of here.
The foreign ministers of 22 Arab
nations called for international intervention "to stop Israeli aggression
that has no excuse or justification," on a day that one of them, Prince
Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, called Black Friday.
Funerals were held throughout the
Gaza Strip, where 16 Palestinians, most of them armed, died in one savage
firefight with Israeli forces. Young boys ran through the streets here
behind a lofted corpse, waving the green, black and yellow flags of the
Palestinian factions and calling for revenge.
In Amman, Jordan, thousands of
Palestinian refugees rallied, chanting, "Bin Laden, hit Tel Aviv!"
As the killing surged throughout
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made a tentative
gesture toward diplomacy: He said on Israeli television this evening that
he was dropping his demand for an absolute calm lasting seven days before
undertaking an American-brokered cease-fire plan. His goal, he said, was
to negotiate a cease-fire.
With his public restive and his
government sharply divided, Mr. Sharon appeared to be moving aggressively
in two directions, making an overture for talks even as Israel intensified
its military campaign throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"Negotiations to stop the shooting
will be held under fire," Mr. Sharon said.
Palestinian leaders tonight
dismissed his announcement as a diversion from the day's violence.
"There was nothing new here," said
Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator. "He's trying to confuse
people."
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