Bloodshed Between Palestine And Israel Is Spiralling

Four Palestinians, including two children, fell victims to the blast in a block of flats in the city of Ramallah on the West bank of the Jordan river last night. The two-storeyed house, inhabited by over 20 people, is almost completely ruined. The house is situated near the residence of head of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat. Moreover, three Palestinians were killed and four wounded after a blast went off in a block of flats in Gaza Strip on Monday evening. Palestinians are firm in their belief that the blasts in Gaza Strip and Ramallah were staged by Israeli secret services, that have been conducting operations to destroy commanders of radical Islamic organizations. It has been noted in this connection that activists of the Hamas movement lived in the blasted houses. Some of them have been wanted by Israeli authorities for a long time on charges of terrorism. However, Israel completely denies its participation in the blasts, saying that the explosions were the result of "industrial accidents" in terrorist workshops, in other words, blasts of bombs, which were supposed to be used in terrorist acts in Israel. Last night saw armed clashes in the Palestinian Authority. Israeli checkpoints in the Gush Katif region near Jewish settlements were shelled and there was a skirmish between Palestinian and Israeli servicemen in the region of Khan Yunis. A number of cars with Israeli plates were put under fire on the West bank of the Jordan river near the cities of Nablus and Ramallah. In the first case, a driver was wounded, in the second - a driver was killed.