02/07 08:51 - Palestinians Storm Jail to Free Militants, Fearing Retaliation
By Heather Langan
Jenin, West Bank, Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Palestinian gunmen stormed a West Bank police station and freed Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for the deaths of three Israelis killed in an attack, Reuters reported.
Dozens of armed assailants threw homemade bombs as they fired on the Palestinian security post in the city of Jenin, overpowering police and releasing the six detained militants, Reuters reported, citing unidentified security officials.
The three Israelis died during an attack on a Jewish settlement in Hamra on the West Bank, prompting an Israeli air strike on a ``terrorist target'' in nearby Nablus, Cable News Network said, citing an army statement.
The latest violence came as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flew to Washington for a meeting with President George W. Bush. Israel wants the U.S. to open talks with senior Palestinians and exclude Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat because he has failed to stop Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Arafat said his attempts to control militants are stymied because Israel has isolated him in his West Bank compound and blockaded his security forces, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing an interview.
`` I can make 100 percent effort, but ... we are in a complete siege,'' Arafat told the BBC.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent in Nablus said the governor's headquarters was hit during the Israeli bombing raid. The target was a Palestinian Authority weapons storehouse, the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz said.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Arafat's Fatah faction, said it carried out the Hamra attack, Reuters said. Hamas also said it was responsible, AFP reported.
An Israeli woman, her 11-year-old daughter and a soldier died in the Hamra attack, AFP said, citing a military statement. The gunman, wearing an Israeli army uniform, was shot dead by soldiers, two of whom were wounded, the Jerusalem Post said on its Web site. The civilians, taken hostage in their home by the attacker, died in the firefight, it said. |
