Palestinian head warns of retaliation for strike

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei condemned an Israeli air strike that killed 14 Hamas militants in unusually harsh terms yesterday, warning the attack will invite a tough response from the militant group and saying retaliation will be ''justified."

Palestinian officials said Qurei's comments reflected his people's outrage as well as his impatience with the political paralysis within the Palestinian Authority. They said Qurei told Cabinet ministers he was so frustrated he wants to resign.

The Israeli attack yesterday, which struck a Hamas training camp in Gaza City shortly after midnight, came a week after Hamas suicide bombers blew up two Israeli buses in the Israeli city of Beersheba, killing 16 people.

The air strike was one of the deadliest of dozens Israel has launched since fighting broke out with the Palestinians four years ago. Thousands of Palestinian mourners in Gaza clamored for revenge, and Hamas vowed to avenge the attack.

Qurei, speaking at a Palestinian Cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said he was outraged.

''No crime goes unpunished," he said. ''For sure there will be retaliation, and the retaliation will be justified if it happens."

While Palestinian leaders always criticize Israeli attacks, Qurei's reaction was especially harsh, hinting that he would tolerate a Hamas reprisal. In the past, Qurei has distanced himself from Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings.

Qurei's comments appeared to reflect the Palestinian public's anger over the air strike. But a government minister said Qurei also was frustrated by his general sense of powerlessness.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has repeatedly blocked efforts to reform the corruption-plagued Palestinian Authority, while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refuses to negotiate with the Palestinians.

''We as a Cabinet are not able to do anything," the minister quoted Qurei as saying. ''I am going to Arafat. I will tell him we can't work like this," Qurei said, waving a resignation letter in front of them.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Qurei would follow through on the threat. He has made similar threats in the past -- and briefly stepped down in July -- only to back down under pressure from Arafat.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, brushed off Qurei's comments on retaliation, saying the prime minister lacked the power to do anything.

The Israeli helicopters struck the Hamas camp with five missileskilling 14 militants and wounding 30 other people. The army said the camp, located in the Hamas stronghold of Shajaiyeh in Gaza City, was used to train militants to fire mortars and rockets. In the past month, Hamas assembled a large bomb and a suicide bomber's explosives belt at the training camp, the army added.

The attack sparked an outpouring of rage. Children stayed home from school, and black smoke billowed over the city as students burned tires in spontaneous demonstrations. Some 30,000 people, including dozens of militants, joined a funeral procession. As men fired machine guns into the air, the crowd screamed for revenge.

''Our response to this crime is coming, God willing, and our twin attack in Beersheba is only one part of many strikes to come," a Hamas militant shouted over loudspeakers mounted on a car.

Since the current round of fighting with the Palestinians began in September 2000, Israel has frequently targeted militants.

But yesterday's attack was one of the deadliest. The strikes are usually aimed at very specific targets -- usually top leaders or militants on their way to an attack. Hamas said all 14 people killed yesterday were militants.