Palestinian militia vow to renew attacks

PALESTINIAN militiamen said yesterday they would renew their attacks in Israel to avenge two leaders killed in a mysterious West Bank explosion — even as Yasser Arafat’s deputy said the armed uprising was a mistake and must be halted.

Israel rejected Palestinian allegations it was behind the blast in the Jenin refugee camp that killed the local leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas and of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia affiliated with Arafat's Fatah movement.

In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian bomber blew up a car near an Israeli-Palestinian liaison office, killing himself, but causing no injuries to bystanders. A radical PLO faction claimed responsibility. In a West Bank refugee camp, a drummer who wakes up residents for a pre-dawn meal during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, was killed by Israeli undercover troops, his colleague said.