The Israeli army said on Wednesday morning it would bar Palestinian travel between major West Bank cities and villages after a shooting attack which killed six Israeli soldiers.
Additionally, the Israeli army said it detained overnight at least 20 Palestinians suspected of involvement in attacks on Israelis.
These acts came as part of heavy retaliatory Israeli strikes at Palestinian targets and confrontations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip in which at least 14 Palestinians were killed.
An Israeli helicopter fired a missile near Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday morning.
"Arafat and his aides are safe in his office," Mohammed Dahlan, a Palestinian security chief, told Reuters after the missile struck an intelligence facility several meters away in the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israeli Cabinet
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened his security cabinet Wednesday morning to review the situation. The cabinet is expected to decide on stepping up measures against the Palestinian Authority in response to the continuous wave of attacks, reported HaAretz.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres announced after the Tuesday night attack that he would not travel to Spain as planned for a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister on Thursday, so that he could participate in the cabinet discussions.
According to sources, Wednesday's cabinet meeting would be especially tough, with pressure to come from several Israeli ministers to intensify Israel's response to the Palestinian resistance attacks.
Ein Ariq Attack
Six Israeli soldiers were killed and another was seriously wounded Tuesday night, in a shooting attack at the Ein Ariq junction, northwest of Ramallah in the West Bank.
Israel Radio reported that an eighth soldier at the site managed to escape unharmed and briefed security forces on the details of the attack.
According to media reports, two or three Palestinian fighters opened fire on a caravan and a nearby building in which the Israeli troops were located.
Israeli security forces said the shooting was very precise and the Palestinian gunmen fled the scene.
The military wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, claimed responsibility for this attack. A short time later, Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas also declared its activists carried out this attack. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
