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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (3211)	3/11/2002 12:41:03 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 15516

Israeli tanks raid Palestinian town " At least 1,019 Palestinians and 333 Israelis have been killed since the uprising began after peace talks deadlocked." Globe and Mail POSTED AT 11:36 PM EST Sunday, March 10 Reuters News Agency Qalqilya, West Bank - Israel sent ground forces into Qalqilya on Monday as part of a land, sea and air offensive in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against a backdrop of mounting Israeli-Palestinian violence. About 50 tanks and armoured troop carriers rumbled into the Palestinian-ruled town from three directions in the dead of night, cutting off the electrical supply before troops thrust as deep as one kilometre into Qalqilya. The raid backed up Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's vow late on Sunday to push ahead with a punishing military campaign against the Palestinians while engaging in U.S.-brokered truce negotiations. The stance, ahead of a visit by U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, pointed to a carrot-and-stick approach by Israel, which has pounded Palestinian security compounds from the air and conducted large-scale ground operations over the past week. The roar of tanks moving through Qalqilya's streets, the clatter of helicopters hovering overhead and occasional bursts of fire from tank-mounted machine guns roused the town. Palestinain sources said a 30-year-old man was killed when a missile from a helicopter hit his house. They said Israeli troops had taken over several houses and were conducting searches through the town. In Biblical Bethlehem, revered as the town of Jesus' birth, Israeli forces have taken positions around several refugee camps. Israeli missiles and tank shells hit targets in the Dheisheh refugee camp late on Sunday. There were no reports of casualties in the camp, where troops have been conducting a sweep for militants since Friday. Israel's two-pronged policy took shape when missiles turned Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Gaza headquarters into rubble on Sunday after a deadly suicide bombing, and Israel announced its intention to end the Palestinian leader's forced confinement in Ramallah. Lifting the siege on Mr. Arafat, imposed in mid-December after a spate of Palestinian attacks, would allow Mr. Arafat to attend an Arab League summit in Beirut on March 27 and 28 that is due to discuss a Saudi proposal for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. It was the second concession in 48 hours by Mr. Sharon, who on Friday retreated from his demand for seven days of quiet as a precondition for the start of talks on a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Mr. Sharon said he waived his demand because an "extremely high level of terror" and Israel's stepped up military offensive made "complete quiet" impossible. The past week has been the bloodiest since the start of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in September, 2000. It has seen a ferocious upsurge in tit-for-tat violence. Addressing soldiers fighting Israel's deadliest conflict for a generation, Mr. Sharon said he had told the United States that while he was willing to start immediate discussions on a ceasefire, "we will continue our military activities." "And if there will be a ceasefire and the terror will resume we will return," he said. The strategy appeared to be an attempt to appease both left-wing members of his coalition government who want peace moves and right-wing parties clamouring for tough military action against the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon said in his speech to the soldiers that Mr. Arafat had met Israel's terms for ending the siege in the town of Ramallah by arresting the suspected killers of far-right cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi, who was assassinated in October. He said a Palestinian suicide bombing in a Jerusalem cafe that killed 11 Israelis on Saturday evening meant it was still too soon to allow Arafat to leave Ramallah. "But at the end of the day I believe the conditions will exist in which we can do this," Mr. Sharon said. "I said once they were arrested I would let him leave. Once you achieve your demands you must carry out your commitments." An Israeli political source said a formal decision to end the restrictions could be taken within days but that Mr. Arafat would need to make a separate request to travel to Beirut. Two previous peace missions by retired U.S. Marine Corps general Zinni ended in failure. But the United States decided to re-engage in the face of mounting casualties on both sides and Sharon's vow to hit the Palestinians until they sued for peace. "He is going to stay in the region and fight his way through this," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told CBS Television. He said he was prepared to send American observers in with Mr. Zinni to start monitoring actions taken by each side to end the violence. Mr. Zinni is due to travel to the region later in the week, before U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrives in Israel as part of a Middle East tour widely expected to focus on Washington's plans to raise the heat on Iraq in its "war on terror." At least 1,019 Palestinians and 333 Israelis have been killed since the uprising began after peace talks deadlocked. globeandmail.ca