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Israelis, Palestinians trade lethal blows

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Sunday, March 10, 2002

JERUSALEM Ñ Israel and the Palestinian Authority traded lethal blows in a weekend of intense clashes.

Palestinian insurgents killed at least 13 Israeli civilians in two attacks on late Saturday. In Jerusalem, 11 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded cafe next to the home of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon was not at home.

In Netanya, Palestinian insurgents hurled grenades and fired semi-automatic weapons toward pedestrians near a hotel. Two Israelis were killed.

The Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat claimed responsibility for both attacks.

For their part, Israeli troops and tanks operated throughout Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank. Palestinian sources said that more than 60 people were killed in clashes on Friday and Saturday.

Israeli troops captured about 600 suspects in the Tulkarm refugee camp as well as a factory to assemble the Kassam-2 short-range rocket. The military captured the camp after two days of house-to-house fighting.

The military also entered the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Troops, backed by an estimated 40 tanks, entered the Dehaishe refugee camp outside the city in a search-and-destroy operation against Palestinian insurgents.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks entered the northern town of Bet Hanoun on Saturday. Israeli F-16 fighter-jets and AH-64A attack helicopters also attacked targets around Bethlehem, Gaza City and Ramallah.

Earlier, the United States expressed concern over reports that Israeli shells had struck and damaged Palestinian relief facilities. Israel has apologized several times for incidents in which Palestinian civilians have been killed in attacks on PA facilities.

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