The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 13

FN WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2001 A13 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER WORLD Sharon blames Palestinians for child's death "We don't wrr Children are placed in danger, he says want negotia- bus bombs!" mourners chanted. The baby's 19-year-old mother, her if! I- i SsijJi launching an offensive despite former premier Ehud Barak's "very courageous" offer which Mr. Sharon, as opposition leader, opposed for a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank, Gaza and parts of east Jerusalem. However, Mr. Sharon has said he would offer the Palestinians little beyond the 40 percent of the West Bank and two-thirds of Gaza that they already control.

Mr. Sharon said Mr. Arafat would not be targeted by Israeli commandos. "We are not taking any steps against political leaders. So if you ask if he (Mr.

Arafat) is safe from our side yes, he is safe from our side," Mr. Sharon said. The two leaders have not met during Mr. Sharon's two months in power. Appearing before the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, Mr.

Sharon expressed sorrow for the killing, but accused Palestinians of firing the mortars from near the Hijo family house. "They do it quite often," he said. "They deployed their mortars by schools and disappeared immediately. It happened several times. The soldiers, after one of our communities was hit by mortar fire, (fired at) the place where the mortar was deployed." "Everyone understands that children should not be in the front, and armed people, armed terrorists, should not act or shoot behind children Every country that has got some moral values understands it." Mr.

Sharon also blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for to rest Iman Hijo, her tiny body wrapped in a white shroud and draped with flowers. Mourners chanted "Long live Palestine" as gunmen fired in the air. Earlier, relatives streamed to a home, where the body of Iman -the youngest victim of more than seven months of fighting lay on a couch. Her weeping father Mohammed, 21, a Palestinian policeman who has been using crutches since being injured three months ago in clashes with Israeli troops, leaned down to kiss his daughter and wept. "I want to spit in the face of this ugly world," he said before the funeral cortege left to wind its way through the camp.

By Dan Perry The Associated Press JERUSALEM Prime Minister Ariel Sharon charged Tuesday that Palestinians were knowingly endangering children in their struggle with Israel, as Gazans laid to rest a 4-month-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli fire. With fears of an escalation mounting, Mr. Sharon rejected demands for a building freeze in Jewish settlements in exchange for a truce, telling a news conference Israelis should "not have to pay in order not to be killed." Some 60 miles southwest, in the Gaza Strip refugee camp Deir el-Balah, anger at Israel was at a boil as thousands of mourners laid Mil'-, "nil Sharon grandmother and three more children belonging to the extended family were all seriously injured by shrapnel when a shell crashed in the small back yard of the family's cinderblock house in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Monday. The baby suffered massive wounds in the abdomen and the back. Israel fired shells into Khan Yunis camp after four mortars landed in Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no injuries.

The Associated PressKHAN YUNIS Four-month-old Iman Hijo, a Palestinian, became the youngest victim in more than seven months of Palestinian-Israeli fighting when she was killed Monday by Israeli fire. LLJ Homeowners Call Today! BITOT HUNT TEEM FIXED FJOT 30 years 7.03 30 years 7.00 15 years 6.75 I 15 years 6.75 No application fee Refinance your 1st or 2nd mortgage Bill consolidation loans Cash for home improvements Financing for rental properties Land contract buyout programs No income verification programs 125 equity loan programs World in brief Enquirer wire services Nigerian president sleeks peace in Congo KIGALI, Rwanda Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said Tuesday he would push for greater U.S. support for efforts to end the war in Congo in his coming meeting with President Bush. But he warned against expecting "overnight wonders." On his way to Washington, Mr. Obasanjo stopped in Rwanda and "Congo to discuss implementation olta 1999 agreement to end the war.

The conflict in-; vojyes two rebel groups and five foreign armies besides Congo's own forces. :U.S. seeks extradition "of anti-abortionist PARIS The United States 'has submitted a request for the extradition of a man accused of -the 1998 slaying of an abortion 'doctor in New York state, an "American official confirmed Tuesday. James Kopp, 46, was captured in the northwest French city of "Dinan March 29 after more than years on the run. Known as the "Atomic Dog" in anti-abortion circles, he became tone of the FBI's most wanted fugitives after the shooting of Dr.

Based on A.P.R. of 7.16 to 7.44. Rates subject to change to market conditions. All programs have qualifying criteria. Barnett Slepian of Buffalo, N.Y.

China refuses to let Navy spy plane fly out BEIJING China on Tuesday protested the resumption of U.S. surveillance flights off its coast and said it would refuse to let the United States fly out a crippled Navy spy plane. China has told Washington that "it is impossible for the U.S. EP-3 plane to fly back" to the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi told the official Xinhua news agency, without saying why Beijing opposes a flight in particular. China has not ruled out allowing other means to remove the damaged EP-3E Aries II aircraft held on Hainan Island since it collided with a Chinese fighter jet.

Two Israeli boys found dead in cave JERUSALEM The bodies of two 14-year-old Israeli boys were found today in a cave near Bethlehem, and police suspected they were killed by Palestinian militants. Police think the boys were stoned to death. The two boys, whose names were not released, were from the West Bank Jewish settlement of Tekoah, southeast of Bethlehem, police spokesman Raffia Yaffe said. The boys left their homes on Tuesday for a walk in the desert and had not been seen since. Four killed during abduction in Angola UNITED NATIONS Sixty children and their teacher were abducted during an armed attack on a youth center in Angola that left four humanitarian workers dead and several civilians wounded, U.N.

agencies said Tuesday. The attack Saturday in the town of Caxito, north of the capital Luanda, was "an unprovoked act of violence," UNICEF and the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola said in a statement. Conjoined twins survive separation surgery SINGAPORE Twin girls born joined at the head have survived the crucial first month after surgery to separate them, their doctor said Tuesday. "Just for them to survive the surgery is a milestone.

For them to survive the first month is a second milestone," said neurosurgeon Keith Goh, one of 20 doctors who worked 96 hours to separate Nepalese twins Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha, who were born with their brains partially fused. The girls, who come from a poor mountain village in Nepal, turn 1 year old today. GULFSTREAM Helping Homeowners Since 1979 Lowno down payment purchases Loan programs for all credit situations Personalized service assured Locally owned and operated CINCINNATI (513) 232-8600 1080 Nimitzview Suite 200 Cincinnati, OH 45230 FORT WRIGHT (859) 341-0200 1717 Dixie Highway, Suite 170 Fort Wright, KY 41011 Lieenswl ly the KY Dept. nf Finunnul Institutions BBB IT" MEMBER QrwHw Cincinnati EASY TO APPLY! OBI Iff I "Lance" 1 1 I I "''mii, i.art-"M' "Treasure" Wf New contoured footbed slide with matching P.U. bottom.

Designed to follow the natural contours of the foot. In black, white or rice. Women's 6M-10M. Orig. 49.00.

Slip-on casual with leather upper and exclusive heel to toe shock absorbing insert with arch support. In taupe, black or navy. Women's 6M-10M. Orig. 69.00.

wis iff vL i 6 "Motion" Lightweight walking shoe with cushioned flex sole and shock foam construction. In black or white. Women's 7XN-9N, 6M-10M, 11M. In navy. Women's 6M-10M.

Full grain leather upper sandal with lightweight rugged outsole. In white or taupe. Women's 6M-10M. "Feather" Lightweight casual superior comfort and flexibility. In white.

Women's 7.N-9N, 6M-10M, 11M. In natural. Women's 6M-10M. Dillard's For Your Convenience We Accept Your Dillard's Charge, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Carte Blanche, Or Diner's Club Card. SHOP TODAY 1 0 A.M.

9 P.M. KENWOOD EASTGATE TRI-COUNTY NORTHGATE WEST TOWN CENTRE MIDDLETOWN CRESTVIEW HILLS HARPERS STATION HOME STORE PHONE YOUR ORDERS 1 -800-I-SHOP-4-U (1-800-474-6748).