Arafat denounces 'unbelievable' assault - but some march to praise act of God

Middle East Reaction

Even before the full scale and horror of the attacks on the United States was clear, the Palestinian leadership rushed to reassure the White House that it condemned such acts and hastily evacuated its offices for fear of reprisal missile strikes.

But on the streets of the occupied territories, it was a different, nastier picture.

Yasser Arafat ­ acutely aware of the likelihood that Palestinian extremists could yet be blamed ­ was among the first leaders to react, appearing briefly on television to denounce the massive assault as "terrible", "unbelievable" and "completely shocking".

"We completely condemn this very dangerous attack, and I convey my condolences to the American people, to the American President and to the American administration, not only in my name but on behalf of the Palestinian people," said Mr Arafat.

But on the streets of Arab east Jerusalem and elsewhere on the West Bank, different and far more unsavoury sentiments were being expressed. Anti-American feelings have risen in recent months among Palestinians, who widely believe that the US has been deeply biased towards Israel, and unsympathetic to its plight, which includes the death of some 600 people in just under one year.

As news of the catastrophes poured in ­ even as it became clear that the death toll would be monstrous and sickening ­ some Palestinians began to celebrate. "America thinks it can play God, but this proves that God is greater," said Fahmi Abu Nab, a 25-year-old driver, who was watching the chaos unfold on television in a Jerusalem coffee shop. "This is their punishment from God. This is a gift from God to the Palestinian and Iraqi people."

In the West Bank town of Nablus, thousands of people poured into the street shortly after the attacks. Several gunmen fired into the air, while other marchers carried Palestinian flags.

By Palestinian standards, these scenes are fairly small scale, and are unlikely to represent the more ambivalent feelings of the majority.

But there were plenty who were willing to speak cheerfully of these ghastly events. Nawal Abdel Fatah, 48, said she was happy because "America is the head of the snake; America always stands by Israel in its war against us".

The truth, however, is that the attacks could prove an utter disaster for the Palestinians. If there is Arab or Islamic involvement in the attacks, then there will be no chance of the US administration acting as peace brokers in the foreseeable future. Israel will not deal with any other intermediaries, so the bloodshed will grind on.

The Palestinians will be even more certain vote-losers for President George Bush than they were before. They will be a no-go area, to be contained and forgotten. The Oslo peace process was always washed-up. Yesterday's events buried it altogether. Last night, this fact had dawned on senior moderates inside the PLO, who admitted to being devastated by what had occurred and knew that, inevitably, Palestinians would be under suspicion.

Little credence was given to early claims of responsibility attributed to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). The operation seemed far beyond the scope of this small militant group. Nor did many seem to believe that even the most ruthless of the Palestinian guerrilla groups ­ Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the organisers of suicide bombings against Israel ­ could have organised such a monumental event.

Israel issued strong condemnations of the attacks, but avoided publicly blaming any of its enemies. Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister, denounced it as "terrible" and offered Israeli aid to the Americans. But Israeli officials privately indicated that they believed that such an attack could possibly have been the work of a "coalition of terrorists".

Elsewhere, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers condemned the terrorist attacks and rejected suggestions that Osama bin Laden, the Saudi dissident, could be behind them.