Israel's army has begun using Russian immigrant soldiers, veterans of fighting in Chechnya, as snipers to guard Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, Israeli security sources said yesterday. The unit dubbed the "Immigrant Legion" was created recently by recruiting several dozen Russian-born men aged 40 and over who were too old to qualify for reserve duty but had volunteered to serve in semi-official security squads, the sources said. An Israeli army spokesman played down the decision, saying the immigrants were informally absorbed into various reserve units, with sniping included among their operational roles. Sources said the volunteers included veterans of the Russian army's fight against rebels in the Chechen region. "These guys fought in Chechnya, but when they got to Israel they were considered too old for the draft," a security source said. "Eventually the military found their sharpshooter training - and their dedication - too good to ignore." Snipers play a key role in Israel's ground forces operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where Palestinian fighters are spearheading an uprising for independence. **Israeli Army Rampages in Jenin, Destroys Homes, Terrorizes Inhabitants*** Israeli occupation troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, rampaged through the northern West Bank town of Jenin Monday, terrorizing inhabitants and demolishing homes. Local sources said soldiers manning APCs fired randomly on residential homes, inflicting heavy damage. Moreover, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired air-to-ground missiles at a home on the towns’ eastern outskirts, inflicting heavy damage. The attack was carried out despite the fact that Jenin is under Israeli military control and Israeli troops could easily arrest “wanted” Palestinians. Moreover, Israeli occupation troops reportedly demolished the family home of a Fatah activist in Jenin. The home is the second to be demolished in the West Bank in less than 6 hours. Earlier today, the Israeli occupation army destroyed a home in Hebron after killing a Hamas activist who barricaded himself inside the structure. Furthermore, Israeli occupation troops took over a two-story home in Jenin after herding occupants into one room. In Gaza, three Palestinian youngsters were injured when Israeli tanks shelled a residential neighborhood at the Tel al Sultan neighborhood in Khan Younis. Medical sources said the three children sustained light to moderate injuries. Israeli routinely targets Palestinian civilian areas, taking advantage of virtually unrestricted American support and international apathy. It is believed that as many as 2720 Palestinians, a third of them children and minors, have been killed by Israeli occupation forces and paramilitary Jewish terrorists since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising against Zionist colonization. **PHOTO CAPTION*** An Israeli tank and army jeep demolish a house where a suspected Palestinian militant had taken shelter in the West Bank city of Hebron September 22, 2003. (Loay Abu Haykel/Reuters)