IDF strikes four West Bank towns By Arieh
O'Sullivan
TEL AVIV (September 14) - In its widest-ever offensive in
Palestinian-held territory, IDF tanks and other armored vehicles destroyed
Palestinian positions in four West Bank cities and towns yesterday,
leaving at least four Palestinians dead and numerous police stations
demolished.
The actions were part of the defense establishment's
new policy of retaliating with greater severity to attacks on Israelis.
Officers in the Central Command said they feel they have a freer hand to
respond to terrorist acts following the terror attacks in the United
States this week. Palestinian gunmen in the Jordan Valley killed two
Israelis on Monday.
For the first time, IDF forces encircling
Jericho moved into the city with tanks around 2 a.m. yesterday.
Palestinians reported that at least 22 tanks entered the southern portions
of the city, its sky lit up with flares, and some moved all the way to the
main road linking it to the Jordan Valley.
According to news
agencies, an IDF bulldozer demolished a training center used by
Palestinian forces, including Force 17.
The army confirmed its
raid into the city as well as an exchange of gunfire.
The army
said it had taken positions around the city "to prevent terrorists from
leaving it and entering Israel."
Up to a dozen Palestinians were
reported wounded in the Jericho clashes. There were no IDF casualties.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, a Jericho resident, accused
Israel of exploiting the world's preoccupation with terror attacks in the
United States to escalate its military strikes.
"The Israelis are
using the tragedy of the events in New York and Washington, feeling that
the attention of the world is elsewhere," he told AP. "There was nothing
to provoke this."
The IDF tanks pulled out of the city at dawn,
but remained around the Jordan Valley oasis. The Palestinians said that
one of the Israeli tanks needed to be towed after it got stuck in
swampland.
At about the same time, infantry backed by tanks and
armored engineering equipment moved into Jenin from the north and headed
for the police compound they had attacked the day before. At least 15
tanks were said to have been operating in various neighborhoods of the
city.
One Palestinian man blew himself up next to a tank, Reuters
quoted an unidentified Palestinian security official as saying. There was
no damage to the tank.
Three other Palestinians were killed when a
tank fired a shell into a house. According to Arab reports, one gunman as
well as a man and a woman were killed and nine others wounded.
The
army confirmed that its forces came under fire and returned fire.
"Israeli armored, infantry, and engineering units completed an
attack on the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority's forces and
destroyed a wing used by Force 17 and General Intelligence," an IDF
statement said. "The operation was aimed at disrupting terrorist activity
in this area."
The IDF also raided Kalkilya and destroyed a
Palestinian security position. They also entered Salfit near Ariel and
demolished another Palestinian Police outpost. The army said these actions
were done in retaliation for the Wednesday murder of Ruthi Shuai, who was
shot in a drive-by killing near the settlement of Alfei Menashe.
Military sources in the Central Command said army units would
remain in force in the previously Palestinian-controlled areas around
Jenin and Jericho until the government orders them back.
With
excellent night-vision capabilities and armor, the IDF appears to have
adopted a policy of blockading the Palestinian cities during the day and
penetrating them at night to carry out arrests and demolitions of
terrorist or police posts.
Also yesterday, Sufian A'ardeh, 30,
died of wounds received in a firefight with Israeli special forces early
Wednesday. Military sources said A'ardeh was helping two key Islamic Jihad
terrorists who had been hiding in his house and were killed in the clash.
He was wounded as he hid behind his 11-year-old sister, who was also
killed in the raid, military sources said.
The Palestinian
Authority said that at least 15 Palestinians have been killed and over 90
wounded since the IDF started its containment operations in the West Bank
following the wave of terror on Sunday that killed five Israelis.
Margot Dudkevitch adds:
A 20-year-old Mitzpeh Yeriho man
was being questioned by police last night after the Palestinian Police
handed him over at the Jericho DCO. It was unclear how the Israeli had
managed to enter Jericho, and whether he had been held captive.
Earlier in the day, soldiers, police, the Megillot Regional Rescue
team, and residents from the community launched a manhunt for the man
after his motorcycle was discovered lying overturned on the roadside south
of Jericho and his helmet and his kippa were found 500 meters east of the
site. Judea and Samaria police spokesman Rafi Yafe said police requested
from their Palestinian counterparts that they immediately hand over the
missing Israeli.
Click
Here to order a one-year subscription to The International
Jerusalem Post for only $39.95.
Mishkenot Caspi A whole different outlook on
Jerusalem
Mishkenot Caspi is a unique architectural accomplishment - a
dream of perfect life at the highest possible standards. This could
be your last chance to secure a unique property in the heart of
Jerusalem. Click
here...
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
