Palestinians 'caged,' says negotiator

JERICHO, West Bank — A senior Palestinian leader warned yesterday that new Israeli incursions into the West Bank following a series of suicide bombings would not bring peace.

"People here are caged like animals," said Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian Authority minister and leading peace negotiator. "I condemn any attacks on civilians. What Israel is doing to us can't be justified. Suicide bombings can't be justified."
Speaking in his office at the lowest and oldest city on earth, Mr. Erekat said that the closure of Palestinian cities would only increase the hatred that drives people to become suicide bombers.
Israel's latest strategy to fight suicide attacks has been to send troops into West Bank towns for short incursions aimed at seizing terrorist suspects.
It has also begun construction of a massive wire, earth and cement barrier along portions of the old Israel-West Bank border known as the Green Line.
Mr. Erekat said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new policy of incursions, along with Israel's nearly two-year policy of blockading Palestinians within their towns, means the Israeli leader has essentially torn up the peace accords negotiated in Oslo a decade ago.