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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (18486)	10/20/2001 1:06:10 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 59480

Israel Invades Beit Jala in Response to Gunfire Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Tensions escalated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Friday after Israeli troops and tanks entered PA-controlled Beit Jala in response to attacks on the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. The gunfire aimed at Gilo shattered nearly two months of complete quiet in the area. It started after three Palestinian militants were killed near Bethlehem in a mysterious explosion on Thursday. Palestinian sources reported that at least seven Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli attack on Beit Jala, Bethlehem and nearby Beit Sahour. An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded early Friday morning in the exchange of gunfire near Rachel's tomb at the edge of Bethlehem, an army spokesman said. "Following the renewed shooting on Gilo and firing of mortar bombs towards the neighborhood and the Ezion region, infantry and armored forces entered the town of Beit Jala...capturing prominent territories and a few houses in the town," the army spokesman said in a statement. The army said that it would carry out its mission "strictly avoiding as much as possible harming innocent civilians, representatives of international organizations and holy sites." Israel temporarily took up positions in Beit Jala in August and withdrew only after a truce agreement, in which the PA pledged to prevent shooting from the neighborhood at Gilo. One resident who was holed up in his Beit Jala apartment with his family described the situation on Friday as "very critical." The resident, who preferred not to be named, said he could see from his window that tanks had entered a nearby Bethlehem refugee camp, where a gun fight was continuing between militants in the camp and Israeli troops. "[It is] very dangerous" he said, "[The children] are very scared." The streets of Beit Jala are deserted and only about 50 people turned up to pray at the local mosque on Friday, instead of the usual 600. Most of the people had headed into Bethlehem for the funerals of the three activists killed on Thursday, he added. Minister Tzipi Livni described the incursion into Bethlehem and Beit Jala as "military steps that had to be taken...to prevent terror." However, Livni said that it was not a "punishment" for the murder this week of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evy by allegedly by a Palestinian gunman. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that the murder had created a "new situation" and has demanded that the PA extradite all members of the PFLP and disband all terrorist organizations or be branded an entity that supports terrorism. "If the PA does not meet these conditions, Israel will view the PA as an authority that supports and hosts terrorism and will act towards it in accordance with the international rules that apply to authorities that support terrorism," said a statement from the prime minister's office. "International rules" is a reference to the U.S. action against the ruling Taliban militia in Afghanistan, accused of harboring Osama bin Laden, wanted for the September 11 attacks on U.S. soil. Sharon praised Bush for his "tenacious war against terror" and said that Israel is fighting the same war. "We are the U.S.' bridgehead in the Middle East, we represent the same values of freedom, liberty and democracy, and it is those values which the terrorists wish to destroy," Sharon said. Nevertheless, Israeli Justice Minister Meir Shitreet denied on Friday that Israel had any intention of killing Arafat or bringing about the collapse of the PA. Arafat's media advisor Nabil Abu Rudeineh accused Israel on Thursday of hatching a plot to assassinate the Palestinian chairman and a number of other Palestinian leaders. Washington has urged Israel to show restraint despite the assassination of one of its ministers. Hiker Murdered In a separate incident an Israeli civilian was killed near the Jerusalem-Jericho road inside Israel on Thursday. Lior Kaufman, a 30-year-old father of one, was shot in the head and killed and two other Israeli hikers were wounded when they stopped their jeeps to admire the scenery in the Judean desert. The murder came after Palestinian militant Atef Abayat, one of Israel's most wanted fugitives, and two other Palestinian activists were killed in a mysterious explosion near Bethlehem. Palestinian sources accused Israel of having fired a missile at Abayat's car, prompting the shooting attacks on Gilo. Sharon's office issued a statement claiming the blast had been the result of a "work accident" a euphemism suggesting the terrorists accidentally blew themselves while preparing explosives for a terrorist attack. Livni said that last week, U.N. special envoy Terje Larson had told her that he had been assured by the PA that Abayat was in a PA jail. Abayat was on a list of more than 100 Palestinian militants that Israel is demanding the PA arrest. Israel accused him of the shooting deaths of three soldiers and two civilians in separate incidents. "I don't know any kind of jail [where] you can get a jeep or car," Livni said. townhall.com