Israel threatens all-out war; war; Barak loses patience as West Bank

ISRAEL last night threatened the Palestinian leadership with all- out war unless it ended all violent clashes in the West Bank and Gaza within 48 hours and would use "all means" to restore order.

Syria and Lebanon were also issued with ultimatums "to cease the hostile activity on the border forthwith and impose their authority on the organisations operating there".

Unless they did so Prime Minister Ehud Barak told the army to "take forceful action to ensure the security of the northern settlements and soldiers".

The latest escalation in the Middle East crisis comes after Israel- Arab violence spilled dangerously to a new front yesterday, with artillery battles, airstrikes and the capture of three Israeli soldiers along its northern border with Lebanon.

Barak said: "If we do not see a change in the patterns of violence in the next two days, we will regard this as a cessation by (Palestinian President Yasser) Arafat of the peace process and we will order the army and security forces to use all means at their disposal to halt the violence."

Speaking as tension continued to escalate throughout the region, Israel's acting foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami said that Arafat was no longer a partner for peace, and warned that Israel was ready for a "confrontation" that could spread to neighbouring countries. In Washington, President Bill Clinton cancelled his schedule to keep in touch with developments.

The latest escalation in the crisis began yesterday after Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds of rock-throwing Lebanese protesters who tried to break down an Israeli-Lebanese border fence, killing at least two Palestinians and wounding 14 others.

Artillery battles also raged and Israeli warplanes attacked Hezbollah positions after the militant group captured three Israeli soldiers in the area. According to reports, the Israeli army has sent a special commando unit to the northern border area with Lebanon and put it on a state of alert.

It was the bloodiest confrontation along the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel ended its 18-year occupation of south Lebanon in May.

Barak called an emergency meeting of his security cabinet late last night followed by a session of the full cabinet.

Israeli television reported that his top officers were advising him that the army should be permitted to use stronger means to quell the disturbances.

Until now, it has used assault rifles, snipers and rockets launched from helicopters. Israel has trained tank guns on Palestinian towns as a warning, but has not fired. "If we have to, we will fight on two fronts," said deputy defence minister Ephraim Sneh, a top adviser to Barak. "We have enough strength for that. We shall have to be less restrained than we were in the past."

In the West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinian gunmen and civilians stormed an Israeli enclave, ripping apart sacred Hebrew texts and setting fire to parts of the compound in a show of triumph, just hours after Israeli troops evacuated the site.

The pre-dawn evacuation of the enclave in Nablus ordered by Barak was the first time Israel relinquished territory as a direct result of Palestinian violence. One Israeli soldier was shot and wounded during the evacuation.

"We consider this a big victory," said Ali Farraj, a local Palestinian leader. "It cost us a lot of blood."

Israeli government officials said the ransacking of the site had cast a shadow over Yasser Arafat's credibility and called into question who was in charge in the West Bank.

The trashing of the Joseph's Tomb compound was also likely to contribute to Barak's increasing political isolation, and make it harder for him to negotiate a peace deal.

"This is an embarrassing capitulation of the prime minister," said Danny Naveh, of the opposition Likud party.

"It is a surrender to Palestinian violence, and the state of Israel will pay a heavy price for it."

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