Israel Reoccupies Palestinian Areas; 2 Occupation Soldiers & 4 Palestinians Killed in a Shootout in Qalqilya; Israeli Helicopter Rockets Injure 13 Palestinians in Gaza

20/06/2002| IslamWeb

Highlights:|Hamas Warns: Israel Will Pay a Heavy Price||Arafat to Call for a Halt of Attacks Against Israeli Civilians||Occupation Troops Appear to Be Preparing for a Long Stay in the West Bank||Scores of Palestinians Arrested in Jenin||STORY: Israeli occupation forces entered the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Qalqilya early Thursday, and declared curfews, the occupation army said in a statement. Occupation troops also moved into Beitunia, a suburb of Ramallah, and searched for so-called suspects. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others were wounded in a shootout in Qalqilya.

According to occupation army sources occupation soldiers entered the home of Marzan Suleiman, head of Palestinian intelligence in Qalqilya, early Wednesday evening to arrest a number of suspects.

According to the sources, as occupation soldiers entered the building, Palestinians opened fire and threw grenades, hitting six occupation soldiers. In the gun battle that ensued, 2 occupation soldiers were killed as was Suleiman and three other Palestinians.

The latest action follows a statement by Israel on Wednesday that it would seize and hold parts of Palestinian territory in retaliation for attacks. The change in policy was a reaction to a Resistance bombing on a commuter bus that killed 19 Israelis on Tuesday.

In another bombing attack on Wednesday, a bomber emerged from a red Audi and dashed toward a concrete bus stop where he detonated his explosives. Israeli police first put the number of victims at six but raised the number to seven Thursday after forensic examination of body parts. More than 35 people were wounded, many of them seriously.

ISRAELIES BLOW UP FACTORIES IN GAZA & JENIN

Shortly after the attack, Israeli helicopters fired rockets at metal workshops in the Gaza Strip. Thirteen Palestinians were hurt, two seriously, Palestinian doctors said.

Occupation forces blew up a bomb factory they claim to have found in the Jenin camp. According to Israeli sources the factory contained a number of bombs, which were ready for use. Occupation soldiers also confiscated a number of homemade weapons.

OCCUPATION ARMY ENTERS RAMALLAH

Occupation Army tanks and armored vehicles entered the West Bank city of Ramallah from two directions early Thursday, witnesses said.

Tanks and armored personnel carriers entered from Beitunia to the south and from the west, the witnesses said, heading toward the center of town, where Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has his headquarters.

ARAFAT TO CALL FOR A HALT OF ATTACKS AGAINST ISRAELI CIVILIANS

Arafat was expected to call for a halt to attacks against Israeli civilians in a speech to be broadcast Thursday on Palestinian TV.

In the speech, according to an advance copy obtained by The Associated Press, Arafat urges an end to the attacks because "these operations have given the Israeli government the excuse to reoccupy our land, killing hundreds of our innocent people and destroying all that we have built in the last eight years."

The difficulty of stopping attacks was underscored early Thursday, when an armed Palestinian tried to break into a high school in the internationally illegal Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron. Occupation soldiers shot and killed the attacker, the military said.

ISRAELI OCCUPATION TROOPS FORTIFY POSITIONS IN THE WEST BANK

Israeli troops, meanwhile, fortified their positions in the West Bank, suggesting plans for an extended stay. Just outside the Jenin refugee camp, seven mobile homes were set up. The move came after the announcement that Israel would reoccupy Palestinian areas in response to attacks.

In the Jenin refugee camp, hundreds of soldiers moved house-to-house, searching for Palestinian Resistance men and fugitives. The center of the camp was gutted in April during Israel's military campaign targeting militants.

About 10 busloads of Palestinian men were rounded up and driven, blindfolded and handcuffed, toward a military base west of the city, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.

HAMAS SAYS ISRAEL TO PAY A HEAVY PRICE

Hamas official Abdel Azziz Rantissi said Israel would pay "a heavy price" for its decision to reoccupy Palestinian towns and cities. "I think the Palestinian people have decided to resist until the last drop of blood," he said.

Palestinian officials said Israel's actions would only cause further bloodshed. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's adviser Ahmed Abdel Rahman told reporters "the occupation will not bring security to Israel, it will escalate and complicate the situation even more, and push Palestinians to harder resistance. Any resistance to Israel's actions will be legitimate... security for Israel will not come while its army occupies Palestinian land and deprives the Palestinians of their security," he said.

Jibril Rajoub, the Palestinians' West Bank security chief, said the Palestinians couldn't cooperate with Israel to arrest those behind attacks.

"As long as the Israelis are continuing their invasion - using their tanks, F-16s and Apaches (attack helicopters) - there will be no arrests of any Palestinian," Rajoub told the AP.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians search the remains of a metal workshop after Israeli strikes at the Jebaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, June 19, 2002. Israeli helicopters opened fire Wednesday night on several targets in Gaza Strip, Palestinian security officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)