His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, has strongly condemned Israel's large-scale military aggression against the Palestinian people and leadership and called upon the international community to "guarantee their security", a Royal Court statement said late on Friday night.

Bahrainis took to the streets again yesterday waving Palesti-nian flags and chanting slogans in a demonstration against Israel's ongoing attacks and the apathy of the international community.

The king, who had held talks in Amman with King Abdullah of Jordan and in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Al Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over the weekend, has been "closely monitoring the latest Israeli assault on the Palestinian territories and on the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, particularly the compound of President Yasser Arafat.

"It is an attempt to destroy the infrastructure of the Palestinian entity, eliminate its leaders and people and sabotage chances of reaching a comprehensive and just peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict," said the Royal Court statement.

This aggression, which comes one day after the Beirut Summit and its unanimous endorsement of the peace initiative introduced by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Sheikh Hamad noted, is "evidence of Israel's rejection of all world values and peace resolutions."

He called on the Middle East peace sponsors, the U.S. and the Russian Federation, the European Union and the United Nations, "to intervene urgently to halt the aggression and guarantee the security of the leadership of the Palestinian people, particularly President Yasser Arafat, to enable him to carry out his duties and responsibilities in these critical times," which, he stressed, bear "ominous consequences" on the security, stability and safety of the region."

Sheikh Hamad also called "for action to activate the Arab peace initiative on the international and regional levels to control the explosive situation."

Meanwhile, hundreds of Bahrainis participated in a peaceful yet noisy demonstration yesterday, for the second day in a row, protesting against Israeli atrocities. The demonstration coincided with the Palestinian Land Day.

Speaking to Gulf News on condition of anonymity, a police officer estimated that 1,700 people participated in the protest, organised by Bahrain's major political associations.

Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi, president of the National Democratic Action Society (NDA) told Gulf News: "We are here, on this occasion to express our solidarity and support for the Palestinian people especially on the day when they are subjected to an all-out war and their president (Yasser Arafat) is under siege with no water, electricity or phone lines."

He called on "all Arab states that have any sort of relations with Israel, particularly Egypt and Jordan, to cut off these relations because the Israeli government itself has never honoured any agreement" it signed with the Palestinian National Authority.

He also called on the Arabs to support the Palestinians with "all available means".

"The Arab people must pressure the governments in order to adopt real policies to support the just struggle of the Palestinian people and enable us to regain our holy occupied land," Sheikh Ali Salman, president of the Islamic National Wefaq Society told Gulf News.

He stressed the desire of most Arabs to cross their national boundaries to join the Palestinians in their struggle against the current Israeli assault. However, it is up to the countries surrounding Palestine (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), he said, to open their borders for those volunteers, which he doesn't think is possible.

He also called on Arab governments to use the economy as an instrument of pressure on "the influential international powers in order to reconsider their support for the Israelis."

Ahmed Al Thawadi, president of the Progressive Democratic Forum (PDF) said: "The current siege of President Arafat is a savage assault on the Palestinian people and an attempt by the Israelis to end the Palestinian struggle to reclaim their legitimate rights."

He called on Arab governments to use political and economical tools against Israel. "We need to activate the Israel boycott resolution endorsed by all Arab summits," he said.