PALESTINIANS ARREST MILITANT TRIO\Arafat seeks international support in crackdown on terrorists.

Byline: Serge Schmemann The New York Times

Under mounting pressure to crush the militant Hamas movement, which is linked to recent suicide bombings in Israel, the Palestinian Authority said Sunday that it had arrested three senior members of the movement's military wing.

The three included at least one of the men most wanted by Israel, Abdel Fatah Satari, the deputy commander of the Qassam Brigades. Palestinian officials said Satari, along with Salem Abu Marouf and Kamal Khalifa, had been arrested overnight in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The top Qassam Brigades commander, Mohammed Dief, remains at large.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres welcomed the arrests but said they were not enough. "Today the names of three people who were really among the leaders of these gangs were published," he said. "Arafat has made a beginning, but we hope for more."

For Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestinian Authority, it was imperative to demonstrate that he was serious in his crackdown on Hamas in advance of a large one-day conference on terrorism to be held Wednesday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik.

President Clinton and leaders from the Middle East and Europe, though not Syria, Iran or Iraq, will take part.

Although the conference is expected to produce more statements than action, it is important for Arafat because it will demonstrate international support for his crackdown on Hamas. The crackdown is unpopular with many Palestinians because the group provides many basic services in Gaza.

Arafat was long reluctant to move against Hamas, and sought instead to wean the group's political wing away from the Qassam Brigades. But after four suicide bombings from Feb. 25 to March 4, in which 62 lives were lost, Israel declared "total war" against Hamas and demanded that Arafat take action.

In addition to the latest arrests, Arafat's security police have rounded up more than 600 Hamas members and have raided mosques, Islamic schools and businesses owned by militants.

For its part, Israel has imposed a virtual siege on all Palestinian towns and villages and has closed down a number of Islamic institutions. Israeli troops have also begun demolishing houses of the families of suicide bombers, seeking to convince future bombers that their families will pay.

A leaflet purportedly issued by the Qassam Brigades leadership Saturday threatened to resume suicide bombings in retaliation for the crackdown. "The General Command of the Qassam units has studied the situation seriously and objectively and has decided to resume its suicide operations," the leaflet declared. It said the Palestinian Authority had gone "too far in its attack on Hamas."

There was no reaction to the threat from Israel on Sunday. In the last two weeks, different factions of Hamas have announced several cease-fires but honored none. The last attack, in Tel Aviv, is believed to have been the work not of Hamas, but of a smaller and even more militant group, Islamic Jihad.