Israeli forces punch into Palestinian areas after sniper attacks
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, May 7, 2001
RAMALLAH — Israeli troops have punched into Palestinian areas south
of Jerusalem.
Israeli ground and armored units entered the Bethlehem-suburb of Bet
Jallah for several hours on Sunday. The incursion was amid clashes between
Israeli and Palestinian troops in the area used by Palestinian snipers to
target Israeli motorists.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks pounded Palestinian Authority positions
while soldiers engaged in a shootout with Palestinian forces. They said an
Israeli force commandeered several buildings used by Palestinian snipers.
By Sunday noon [0500 EST], Israeli troops withdrew from Bet Jallah.
Palestinian sources said a Fatah combatant was killed and 12 others were
injured during the battle.
The Israeli incursion was regarded as the first into Bet Jallah since
the mini-war erupted in late September. Last week, the U.S. State Department
criticized an earlier Israeli military incursion into the Gaza city of Rafah
near the Egyptian border.
Meanwhile, Palestinian gunners fired four mortars toward the Israeli city of Sderot
on Sunday. The mortars landed on a road near the city and nobody was
reported injured.
It was the first mortar attack on Sderot in about a month and comes
after several pledges by Arafat to stop the attacks. Hours earlier,
Palestinians fired mortars at the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in the
Gaza Strip.
Palestinians in the Gaza city of Rafah have demonstrated against
Arafat's orders to halt the mortar attacks and disband Palestinian
resistance committees. On Saturday, hundreds of Fatah and Islamic militants
participated in the protest.
On Sunday morning, a bomb exploded in the Tel Aviv suburb of Petach
Tikvah. Four Israelis were reportedly injured.
The bombing was reported hours after what Palestinians asserted was a
series of Israeli attacks. On Saturday, Israeli snipers were said to have
assassinated an Islamic commander and destroyed the headquarters of a
Palestinian intelligence agency.
Palestinian sources said Israeli assassins killed Abdul Khalil Ismail,
37. Ismail, a resident of the Bethlehem-area village of Artas, was killed in
front of his home by 20 bullets. His daughter was slightly injured.
Ismail was said to have organized several cells for the Iranian
backed-Islamic Jihad group. The cells operated in the Bethlehem area and two
members were recently caught. The sources said one of those detained told
Israeli interrogators that Ismail had obtained chemicals for bombing
attacks.
Near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, four Palestinian fighters
from the ruling Fatah movement and the Islamic opposition Hamas group were
injured when a bomb exploded in a mysterious explosion. One of those injured
was said to have been involved in Palestinian bombings of Israeli cities.
In another development, Israeli tanks destroyed the headquarters of the
PA General Intelligence agency. Eight Palestinians were said to have been
injured in the attack on the headquarters on Saturday,
PA intelligence chief Col. Tawfik Tirawi is said to be responsible for
Palestinian attacks in the Bethlehem area.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said Israel threatens the
entire Palestinian people. Arafat called for an international conference to
discuss the mini-war between Israel and the PA.
Monday, May 7, 2001
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