NP - Palestinian Moderate Leader's Home Shelled

[David Morris]

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/22/world/22CND-PALE.html

Leading Palestinian Shows Off His Home Shelled by Israelis

AMALLAH, West Bank, May 22 — Reporters traipsed through the master bathroom of
Jibril Rajoub's house today, getting a highly unusual glimpse of a Palestinian
security chief's whirlpool bath and shampoo collection. The marble floor was
still littered with the brown glass that blew from the windows when Israeli
tanks' shells struck on Sunday.

Pushed for details, Mr. Rajoub revealed that he was naked and dripping wet when
the firing began, having stepped out of the shower and run into his bedroom to
answer the telephone. By his account, the first of three shells missed him by
30 seconds. All told, his house was hit from three sides, his armored Mercedes
was destroyed, and his 11-year-old son's bedroom, complete with Batman rug, was
left with bullet-pocked walls.

Israeli authorities have adamantly denied that they were trying to assassinate
Mr. Rajoub, known as one of the more moderate and pragmatic Palestinian
officials. 

Defense Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer said today that he accepted the army's
explanation that troops were returning fire after "massive fire" was directed
at them from the grounds of Mr. Rajoub's home. He added that the troops
apparently did not know at whose home they were aiming their tanks, and said
that he instructed the army to prepare better maps marking the homes of
well-known senior Palestinian officials.

[...]

"Mine is one in a series of attacks in the last three weeks," Mr. Rajoub said
in his gravelly voice, speaking at the ultra-modern preventive security
headquarters where he sometimes drives his Mercedes right into the lobby and
parks. "I think it's part of a policy to undermine the Palestinian Authority
and make it collapse."

Some Israelis viewed the incident similarly. Akiva Eldar, a senior columnist
for the newspaper Haaretz, said: "The shelling of Jibril Rajoub's house removes
any remaining doubts. Ariel Sharon has decided to turn the Palestinian
Authority into the enemy."

Mr. Rajoub added, using the nom de guerre of the Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat: "Abu Amar as a person, as an individual, is the most important element
for regional stability. He who thinks to touch Abu Amar would push the whole
region to deterioration."



An army field commander, however, contradicted the official position by saying
on the Israeli radio that he knew very well to whom the house belonged.



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