ISRAEL . . . HAMAS ABANDONS ARAFAT

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The militant Islamic group Hamas issued new threats against Israeli targets today as reconciliation talks collapsed with the Palestinian self-rule government headed by Yasser Arafat. The talks, whose importance an Arafat spokesman minimized today, began after PLO police opened fire on Hamas activists in Gaza Nov. 18, killing 15 people. The talks' failure was another setback in Arafat's efforts to gain a grip on Palestinians who oppose the Israeli peace accord. The threats -- made during a Gaza City rally today where 10,000 Hamas supporters gathered to commemorate the group's 1987 founding -- put security forces throughout Israel and the occupied territories on alert.