Militant Islamic group calls for swift revenge

Hamas is calling on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to release Palestinian prisoners in response to Israeli airstrikes.

Khaled Mashaal, a Damascus-based Hamas leader has condemned the attacks on Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Gaza and Jenin.

Mashaal has called on the Palestinian Authority to retaliate for the latest aggression, such as releasing all the Palestinian prisoners.

"The (Palestinian) people's choice is resistance," he said, adding that all Palestinian forces, including Arafat's Palestinian Authority, "have to get involved in the uprising."

The Damascus-based Palestinian Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine also called on the Palestinian Authority to immediately release all detainees.

The front also accused the United States of applying pressure and blackmail to force Arafat to detain Palestinians.

The calls came after Israel launched helicopter missile strikes against Arafat's headquarters. The retaliatory strike came despite the arrests of 110 militants by Arafat's forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has declared an all-out "war on terror" in response to Hamas suicide bombings and shooting attacks over the weekend that killed 26 and wounded nearly 200.