Israel demanded Wednesday that Yasser Arafat immediately arrest the leaders of an Islamic militant squad responsible for two suicide bombings in Jerusalem, saying they are hiding in Palestinian-run areas.
Israeli and Palestinian security officials met Tuesday, hours after Israel identified four of the Jerusalem suicide-bombers as activists of the Islamic militant group Hamas from the West Bank village of Assira.In the meeting, Israel handed the Palestinians an updated list of Hamas activists it wants arrested, as well as information on the ringleaders of the Assira cell, radio reports said.
The remains of the bombers were badly mangled, and Israel established their identities through DNA testing. Thirteen relatives of the four bombers and a fifth suspect in Assira were forced to give blood two weeks ago to establish the match.
In Assira, Israeli soldiers rounded up four more suspected Hamas activists overnight and enforced a blockade that barred residents from entering and leaving the village. Dozens have been arrested in Assira since the Israeli blockage began Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's success in tracking down the bombers was proof that the Palestinian Authority could do a lot more to prevent terror attacks in Israel.
"I again call on the Palestinian Authority to work actively against the infrastructure (of Hamas) to stop these people and to cooperate (with Israel)," Netanyahu said.
Israel's announcement on the identity of the bombers has deeply embarrassed Arafat, who insisted until recently that the assailants came from abroad, not from areas under his control.
The four men - Moawiya Jarara, 22; Bashar Salawah, 23; Tawfiq Yassin, 25; and Yousef Shouli, 22 - had walked out of a loosely run Palestinian jail in the West Bank town of Nablus last year.
At the time, Israel said the four were suspects in a 1995 shooting attack on an army vehicle and demanded they be rearrested immediately for fear they would carry out more attacks. Israel also said the names of the four were included on a list of 88 Islamic militants given to the Palestinians with a demand that they be rounded up.
The Palestinians have dismissed the Israeli accusations, saying the four bombers were from a West Bank village that, though administered by the Palestinian Authority, remains under Israeli security control.
Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel said Wednesday that the leaders of the Assira cell are hiding in areas under complete Palestinian control, and demanded that Arafat arrest them.