Israeli forces moved further into Bethlehem early Tuesday after attacking Palestinian security headquarters near Ramallah with tanks and machine guns, Palestinians said.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian gunman infiltrated inside Ram-On, a Jewish cooperative settlement, north of Jenin, early Tuesday morning, and opened fire on one of the houses in the settlement. One Israeli resident was lightly injured by flying glass.
Israel's Border police conducted a short chase after the gunman, who fled into a PA-controlled zone. After a short exchange of fire, the gunman was shot and killed.
Elsewhere, tanks entered Bethlehem from two directions, witnesses said, heading toward the center of town.
The Israeli military said forces took up controlling positions in the city and were searching for activists and weapons. A statement said Israeli forces also searched three Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank.
Earlier, the Israelis attacked the headquarters of Palestinian Preventive Security outside Ramallah, firing tank shells and machine guns, Palestinian officials said. They said Palestinian security chief Jibril Rajoub had given orders to the 400 men inside to resist.
Palestinians sources said that Israel was demanding that those inside the headquarters surrender themselves. Several Hamas and Fatah commanders, including experts in the preparation and dispatch of suicide bombers, are said to be inside the complex, some of who came from the Gaza Strip. Rajoub himself left the complex earlier this week.
According to Haatetz daily, several Israeli security officials objected to the operation, saying that Rajoub is one of the last Palestinian leaders that Israel is able to engage in negotiations.
Palestinian officials said that Israeli soldiers used 60 Palestinian civilians as human shields in front of the tanks before the assault. Army spokesman "categorically denied" the charges. However, Israel banned reporters from the scene.
In a statement, the Israeli military said many "leaders responsible for the recent wave of terrorism" were holed up in the building and had ignored an ultimatum to surrender.
Since the latest Israeli offensive started Friday with an attack on Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah, Israeli forces have detained about 700 Palestinians, said military spokesman. Among the fugitives being hotly pursued by Israeli forces in Ramallah was Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, a senior Israeli security source told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israeli officials have said Barghouti was involved in numerous attacks on Israelis.
In Ramallah, nearly all the dead over the course of the incursion — at least 25, by Palestinian count — have been men in their 20s and 30s. At Ramallah Hospital, doctors said they had not been allowed to transport them out for burial.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that Israel should "ease the siege" on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in an explicit criticism of government strategy. "We must not deceive ourselves. We cannot resolve the problem in one fell swoop, this is very complicated," he said on national television, adding: "We must ease the siege on Arafat because we have polarized media attention."
On Monday night, Palestinians opened fire on an Israeli car in the West Bank, wounding three members of a family. Israeli soldiers fired back, killing one of the gunmen, the military said.
Earlier, a car bomb exploded near downtown Jerusalem, killing the driver and a policeman. Police said the policeman stopped the car and the driver, a Palestinian, set off the bomb. The Al Aqsa Brigades, a group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
