Israel Raids West Bank City Despite Bush Call

26/04/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Fifteen Palestinians Detained in Qlaqilya and Three Other Villages.
Occupation Army Attacks Demo Demanding Arafat's Release.
UN Jenin Probe Mission To Go Ahead.
(Read photo caption within).

STORYIsraeli forces raided the West Bank city of Qalqilya Friday in defiance of a fresh call from President Bush for Israel to complete a pullout from re-occupied Palestinian areas.

The occupation army said it detained at least 15 Palestinians "suspected of carrying out what it calls terrorist activities against Israeli citizens" in sweeps through Qalqilya and the villages of Beita, Silt a-Dhar and Jaba'a.

Witnesses said about 15 tanks and armored personnel carriers pushed into Qalqilya and that occupation soldiers stormed into homes, blowing open doors and ransacking rooms. Palestinian security sources said 30 people were taken away by the troops.

Residents reported gun battles in the opening hours of the Israeli thrust into the city of 40,000.

The operation was launched only hours after Bush held talks at his Texas ranch with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

Bush urged Israel to bring its sieges of Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and Bethlehem's Nativity Church to a peaceful end and to complete a pullout from West Bank areas seized in a campaign launched on March 29 after Resistance attacks had killed scores of Israelis.

But he also said Palestinians must do more to end the violence.

OCCUPATION ARMY, PROTESTERS CLASH

Israeli occupation soldiers fired teargas and threw stun grenades at a crowd of several hundred demonstrators -- Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and foreign peace activists -- that marched toward Arafat's Ramallah compound Friday to demand his release.

One person was taken to hospital after a stun grenade hit him in the head.

In Bethlehem, Israel allowed nine Palestinians aged 14 to 20 to leave the church Thursday along with the bodies of two men shot by Israeli troops.

The army said it released eight of the nine after questioning Friday, but one was still being detained on suspicion of anti-Israeli activity.

Another round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the fate of the 230 people inside, including Resistance men, clerics and civilians, ended inconclusively Thursday.

U.N. CONFIDENT MISSION TO GO AHEAD

In New York, the United Nations said it was confident a U.N. fact-finding team set up following Palestinian allegations of massacres in Jenin refugee camp during Israel's assault would arrive in the region as planned by the end of the week.

After consenting to the mission, Israel urged the U.N. to make changes to the team, saying it had a political tilt.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli soldier takes cover behind a wall in front of the Church of Nativity, Bethlehem, April 26, 2002. Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Qalqilya in defiance of a fresh call from President George W. Bush for Israel to complete a pullout from re-occupied Palestinian areas. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
- Apr 26 8:51 AM ET