ARABS-ISRAEL - Feb. 13 - Arafat Aide Ayad Killed.

Two Israeli helicopter gunships fire 4 missiles on the car of elite force 17 officer Masoud Ayad, 54, killing him instantly in the Gaza Strip. Israel held Ayad, an Arafat bodyguard, responsible for a failed mortar bomb attack on a Jewish settlement in Gaza a few days ago and said he worked for Hizbollah. Barak praises the slaying and says Ayad was responsible for "a series of attacks" on Israelis. But PA officials blame Israel for escalating the violence and deny that Ayad was a Hizbollah agent. The assassination coincides with a report by Terje Rod-Larsen, the UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, that says the Palestinian economy has lost about $1.15 bn, 20% of projected GDP for 2000, since the beginning of the crisis on Sept. 28. It says poverty in the territories increased by 50% since the crisis began and the World Bank estimates that 32% of the Palestinian population is living below the poverty line. Larsen urges both Barak and Sharon to lift the closures on the territories that inflict most of the economic damage.