Israeli Occupation Troops Raid Nablus

11/04/2005| IslamWeb

Israeli occupation troops have made an incursion into the centre of Nablus in the north of the West Bank.

Early on Monday, the soldiers, who arrived in about 20 military vehicles backed by a helicopter, surrounded several buildings and called on their residents to get out, apparently looking for wanted Palestinian activists, witnesses said.

The troops demolished a house, a Palestinian official told Aljazeera.

Palestinian schoolchildren and adolescents threw stones at the Israeli soldiers in several areas, Aljazeera's correspondent in Palestine reported.

Soldiers replied with warning shots fired into the air, witnesses added.

A military spokeswoman confirmed that the army had moved into Nablus "for a routine operation".

The raid came a few hours after Palestinian resistance groups fired dozens of mortar shells at Israeli settlers and troop positions in the Gaza Strip.

Resistance groups said the mortar fire was in response to the killing of three Palestinian youths by Israeli soldiers in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Saturday.

Military sources said on Sunday that 25 mortar shells had been fired at Jewish settlements, causing damage to three houses but no injuries.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Ahmad Abu al-Rish Brigades and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine all have confirmed they had shelled settlements in Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Israeli "crime". 

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian paramedics carry a wounded Palestinian boy after he was shot by Israeli soldiers during an army raid in the West Bank city of Nablus April 11, 2005. (REUTERS)