Israeli occupation forces have entered Gaza in what appears to be phase one of a wide scale military offensive in retaliation to Wednesday Palestinian Resistance bombing which killed 16 Israelis in a billiard club near Tel Aviv. Israeli Palestinian sources said that 20 Israeli Tanks accompanied by a number of bulldozers went into Rafah in southern Gaza. Israeli forces have since set a house in the town ablaze and destroyed another firing tank shells at it. Buldozers meanwhile leveled the debris to the ground. (Read photo caption)

At the same time Israeli press reports said that the Israeli minister of Defense is studying the possibility of calling in reservists as a prelude of launching phase 2 of the so-called 'Protective Shield Operation'. Phase one lasted two weeks starting April 29th and covered almost all West Bank cities, villages and towns.



Early Thursday, Israel's security cabinet gave the green light for military operations against what it calls "terrorist targets" after a Palestinian Resistance bombing that threatened to derail new Middle East peace efforts.

The decision coincided with a deal to end a five-week-old armed standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, under which 26 Palestinian militants were expected to leave the church almost immediately and 13 were due to be exiled abroad.

Early Thursday, Israel's security cabinet gave the green light for military operations against what it calls "terrorist targets.

A government statement gave no details of what military operations had been approved but said the security cabinet had empowered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to decide what action to take.

A senior Israeli political source said one cabinet minister had raised the idea of exiling Palestinian President Yasser Arafat but it had not even been out to a vote.

In Washington, President Bush on Wednesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to heed a "vision of peace" when responding to Tuesday's bombing that killed at least 15 people, but stopped short of urging restraint.

However, observers expected a wide scale military operation and the expulsion of Arafat.

The decision to retaliate militarly coincided with a deal to end a five-week-old armed standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, under which 26 Palestinian militants were expected to leave the church almost immediately and 13 were due to be exiled abroad.

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The West Bank offensive appears to be winding down, but the war is not over. Gaza's militia groups remain virtually intact, 84 miles southwest of Jerusalem. The militant Hamas group in Gaza claimed responsibility for Tuesday night's bombing at a pool hall outside Tel Aviv. Officials on both sides believe a new front is inevitable, probably soon. They say if that occurs, the explosion in Gaza -- home to 1.2 million Palestinians -- could be worse than in the West Bank.