Israelis Stunned As 21 Die in Weekend of Horror

The failure of his iron-fisted military strategy stared the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, in the face yesterday after 10 Israelis - including seven soldiers - were shot dead by a lone Palestinian sniper at the end of one of the deadliest weekends for the Jewish state in 18 months.

The ambush at an isolated checkpoint in the West Bank raised the Israeli death toll to 21 in just 13 hours, as events unfolded at alarming speed.

Israelis had barely digested the horror of Saturday night's attack by a suicide bomber who blew himself up in a crowd of mothers and babies in an ultra-orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem, killing nine people, when news arrived of the shooting spree at the army checkpoint. Both attacks were claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

The movement also said it shot dead an Israeli policeman on a motorcycle on Saturday night in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem.

An hour after yesterday's attack on the checkpoint, another Israeli soldier was killed and four others were injured in an attack in the Gaza Strip, carried out by Islamic Jihad.

By mid-morning, Israeli F-16s were tearing up the skies of the West Bank, bombing Palestinian police posts in Ramallah and a nearby town, and killing four policemen. Earlier yesterday, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a Palestinian police building in Bethlehem.

But such bombardments have become almost ritualised during the past year, and the hollowness of Mr Sharon's strategy was weighing heavily on the prime minister. Israelis are traumatised by months of bloodshed, and their impatience with Mr Sharon's failure to bring the security he promised is growing.

As he summoned his security cabinet last night to plan his next steps, Mr Sharon's far-right allies were clamouring for Israel to lay waste to the Palestinian Authority, and to banish Mr Arafat. However, the prime minister faced equally strong criticism from moderates who said that his heavy-handed tactics - and the army's invasion of two West Bank refugee camps - had precipitated the spate of Palestinian attacks.

The ambush at the roadblock near the illegal Jewish settlement of Ofra was executed with chilling precision by a single sniper who fired barely two dozen rounds from an ageing single-shot rifle before escaping into the hills.

For Israelis, who react with far greater emotion to the deaths of soldiers than to the killings of Jewish settlers, or even ordinary civilians, the ambush was a reminder of the vulnerability of the soldiers who man army checkpoints in the occupied territories, despite Israel's overwhelming military superiority.

Israel radio's military correspondent last night reported scathing criticism of arrangements at the Ofra checkpoints from combat reservists who recently arrived at the post. "You deserted us. We were left here like ducks on a shooting range. We asked for additional means of protection, there was no regard for our requests," she quoted them as saying.

At 7am yesterday, on what is the beginning of the work week, three cars pulled up at the army roadblock, situated in an isolated valley, as the shooting started. Others continued to arrive, even after the gunman opened fire.

"We pulled up at the checkpoint and right in front of us we saw bodies on the ground, and weapons spread around," said Tal Mallul, a 15-year-old schoolboy who was travelling from the Jewish settlement of Eli towards Jerusalem.

"There was shooting above us. Two bullets even hit our car, but we could not move because of the barricade, and there were bodies lying right beside us - maybe 30cm from the wheel of our vehicle."

The assault appeared to have caught the soldiers by surprise. For several agonising moments, witnesses said, the troops seemed paralysed, unable to locate the source of fire or reach their fallen comrades.

The schoolboy went on: "While we were waiting, I saw a soldier run out of his security post of cement cubes in the direction of the jeep. He was hit by a bullet and fell. Then a medic came running out to give him first aid. He was also hit and seriously wounded."

Claiming responsibility for the attack, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a statement that it was in retaliation for Israel's assault on the Balata and Jenin refugee camps, which killed up to 30 Palestinians before troops withdrew at the weekend.

Yesterday, the direct involvement of Palestinian militants ostensibly loyal to Mr Arafat fuelled demands from the Israeli right for Mr Sharon to launch a war to the finish.

"The Palestinian Authority is an enemy. Its infrastructure has to be destroyed and all those who carry weapons and make war have to be killed," said Benny Elon, the far-right tourism minister.