War of words escalates between Israel, Syria

JERUSALEM — This week's suicide attack in Israel has sparked a war of words between Israel and Syria and increased pressure on the Israeli government to finish the West Bank barrier that many Israelis believe saves lives.

In Gaza, meanwhile, four Palestinians were killed in clashes Thursday after Israeli troops found a tunnel leading to a Jewish settlement.

As Israel mourned its 16 dead from Tuesday's twin bus bombings in the southern desert city of Beersheba, officials ratcheted up their rhetoric against Syria, hinting at possible military action. The militant group Hamas, whose leaders are based in Syria, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Syria and Hamas, apparently fearful of an Israeli strike, accused Israel of trying to aggravate tensions.

Although no Israeli strike appeared imminent — security officials said they had not begun discussing the possibility — the heated rhetoric underscored Israel's growing impatience with Syrian support for Palestinian militants.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Israelis that the bus bombings, the deadliest attack in Israel in nearly a year, were carried out on direct orders from Hamas leaders in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

A senior adviser to Sharon, Raanan Gissin, warned earlier that neither Hamas nor Syria was "immune" to an Israeli strike. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Syria's support for terrorists "will have very clear consequences."

However, the chief of Israeli military intelligence refused to draw a straight line from Beersheba to Syria.

"We did not directly connect the terror attack that was carried out in Beersheba to the (Hamas) headquarters in Damascus," Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash said in an interview with Channel 10 television. But he also stressed there is "wide and comprehensive support from Damascus" for militants in the West Bank and Gaza.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa was quoted as saying threats would "worsen the already aggravated situation in the region." Ahmed Haj Ali, an adviser to the Syrian information minister, said Syria was taking the Israeli talk seriously.

Hamas issued its own statement from Damascus, accusing Israel of trying to provoke a confrontation and insisting its actions against Israelis are planned and executed from the Palestinian territories, not Syria.