Israel raids two cities, set to strike militants ( 2003-08-21 11:48) (Agencies)
Israel raided the West Bank
cities of Jenin and Nablus on Thursday after agreeing to launch military strikes
against Islamic militants if the Palestinian government does not crack down on
them, security sources said.
Palestinian witnesses said they heard gunfire and explosions as tanks entered
Jenin and moved into the western part of Nablus, but Israeli military sources
said they were regular raids to seek out and arrest militants. No one was hurt.
Security sources said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and security chiefs,
meeting to discuss a suicide bombing that killed 18 people in Jerusalem, had
agreed on wide-ranging steps to be taken against militants if the Palestinian
government did not immediately crack down on them.
Israel also froze negotiations with the Palestinians after Tuesday's suicide
attack, one of the deadliest in three years of violence since the Palestinians
rose up seeking independence.
"If the Palestinian government does not take all the steps necessary in the
war on terror, actual and meaningful steps, it will not be possible to move to
the stage of diplomatic discussion," Sharon's office said in a brief statement.
The statement did not say what steps Israel could take, but they were
expected to include military raids to arrest or kill militants. A senior Israeli
source said the raids could begin in a matter of hours and last several days but
that Israel appeared to have given them "a few more hours" to rein in the
militants.
The suicide bombing left a three-month truce hanging in the balance and
threatens the success a U.S.-backed peace "road map" which outlines reciprocal
steps to end nearly three years of violence and establish a Palestinian state by
2005.
ABBAS ORDERS ARRESTS
In an effort to stave off a tough Israeli response to the suicide attack,
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas cut off contacts with Islamic militant
groups on Wednesday and ordered security forces to arrest those behind the
bombing.
Abbas and his cabinet later met President Yasser Arafat and his Fatah group
in the West Bank city of Ramallah. They vowed to enforce the rule of law and
reiterated their commitment to the three-month truce announced by militants on
June 29.
"Everyone should adhere to one authority and the rule of law," they said in a
statement read out to reporters in Ramallah. "The security forces will be in
charge of implementing the resolutions of the Palestinian cabinet."
The statement was unlikely to appease Israel or the United States, which was
scrambling to salvage the road map.
The State Department sent a top envoy to meet both sides after Tuesday's bus
bombing, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it was "important for
all the parties to continue talking about the way forward."
The White House put the onus on the Palestinian Authority to rein in the
militants and said Israel had the right to defend itself. Abbas says a crackdown
would risk civil war.
In the latest violence, Israeli soldiers shot dead 16-year-old Palestinian
Islam Ghanem during a raid to arrest militants on the Tulkarm refugee camp in
the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian witnesses said.
They said he was hit by a bullet when gunfire broke out during the raid.
Israeli military sources said the Palestinians had shot first and did not
confirm the death.
Peace efforts appear to be in deep trouble. The cease-fire is badly frayed
after the suicide bombing and two other suicide attacks last week which followed
fatal Israeli military raids.
Israel has shelved its planned handover of occupied West Bank cities, frozen
high-level talks and reimposed a clampdown on the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.