TEL AVIV, Dec 5: Israel suspended on Wednesday its strikes against the Palestinian Authority (PA) to give its leader, Yasser Arafat, the chance to show he was serious about cracking down on militants behind a spate of deadly suicide attacks.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the authorities had agreed to a request by Arafat to give his police freedom to move around to make good on pledges to arrest members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have vowed to continue attacks despite Arafat’s insistence on a truce.

“Arafat phoned me and said he wanted to take the situation in hand and complained that we are not giving him the chance,” Peres said on public radio.

“I told him the situation depends on him and that in the next 12 hours, he could change (Israel’s) attitude toward the Palestinian Authority, which is suffering from a problem of credibility,” he added.

A defence ministry spokesman confirmed that the army had suspended its strikes for an indeterminate period to test Arafat’s resolve to take on the major figures in the two Islamic group’ military wings, despite popular opposition among his people.

“We want to see what Arafat is doing, if he is taking seriously the demands of the whole world. But we will continue to fight terror,” said ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikay.

“So far he is playing games. He hasn’t touched anyone. He hasn’t arrested any of the hardcore” militants.

Arafat told ABC News he had arrested 131 militants, including 11 after Israel’s air raids, which killed two Palestinians and injured more than 120 people.

“They have to cool down, to give me the chance,” Arafat told the US news network.

Peres said he had told Arafat: “We gave you a list of 36 people who we know to be the leaders of terrorist organizations and we firmly demand that you put them in prison.

“Arafat then asked me to allow his police forces to operate freely in the territories,” which the Israeli army has subjected to a strict lockdown since the Jerusalem suicide bombing on Saturday night.

“I spoke to the prime minister, and he gave his authorization, which I passed on to Yasser Arafat,” said Peres, opposed to escalating air strikes.

Israel earlier pledged not to bomb Palestinian prisoners where “terrorists” were being detained.

COALITION PARTNERS: Labour party ministers in Israel’s cross-party government abandoned on Wednesday their threat of resignation, giving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a free hand in his battle against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

But the move brought dissension from within the divided and leaderless party, which is faced with staying in the government or facing a disaster in a general election.

The ministers had walked out of a government meeting on Monday night which branded Arafat’s Palestinian Authority a supporter of terrorism, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres denounced what he called an attempt to bring down the authority.

Peres called a meeting of his party colleagues for Wednesday to decide their next move, as Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded Palestinian security bases and wrecked Arafat’s heliport. But at the meeting they backed down, without a vote, participants said.

They quoted Peres as saying “what happened at Monday’s cabinet meeting goes against the coalition agreement and the rules of cohabitation; the decisions taken contribute nothing to the fight against terrorism and serve above all to satisfy the extreme right”.

Peres said he was “offended” by Sharon’s attitude but hastened to add that he did not propose “for the moment” to quit the government.

“We consider that we must stay in the government for the present, but we are going to demand clarifications from the prime minister in an official letter,” Science and Culture Minister Matan Vilnai said.

He said Labour wanted to be certain that the government decisions did not call into question the coalition agreement drawn up when Sharon’s right-leaning government was formed in March.

The party accuses the right, under pressure from its extremists, of using the current crisis to finally bury the Oslo peace accords of 1993, which granted limited autonomy to the Palestinians.

But Labour ministers voiced no objections to the military offensive unleashed by Sharon in response to Palestinian suicide attacks at the weekend, which is being ultimately directed by Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, who is a Labour member.

“Our electorate would not accept us ditching the national unity government for the sole reason that it considers the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat supporters of terrorism, which is inarguable,” Trade and Industry Minister Dalia Itzik said.

Other party figures disagreed, however, notably leading dove and former minister Yossi Beilin, who accused the Labour leadership of capitulating to the right.

“Sharon came to power to destroy all chance of peace. The irony is that he is doing it with the help of Labour,” he said.

Beilin said he had gathered the necessary support to debate the decision at a meeting of the party central committee.

Another Labourite, Haim Ramon, summed up the party’s dilemma, saying, “We’ve got to go, but the time is not yet ripe.”

Although Sharon could hang on if Labour walked out, his room for manoeuvre would be limited. And all opinion polls predict that if he calls an election Labour would be wiped out.—AFP