Israel Arrests Relatives of Palestinian Attackers, Destroys Houses

19/07/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Fathers & Brothers to be Expelled to Gaza Strip||Hamas Threatens Unique Response||Curfew Partly lifted in Four Palestinian Cities||Al-Nazir Claims Responsibility for the Twin Tel Aviv Resistance Bombing Attack||2 Houses Destroyed, 16 Palestinians Detained||Israelis Begin to Doubt the Wisdom of Their Government's So-called 'Anti-terror Policy'||A Vienna-based Media Watchdog Criticizes Israel for Killing Palestinian Journalist, Abu Zahrra|| STORY: Israeli occupation soldiers destroyed houses of two Palestinians suspected in two devastating Resistance attacks this week and arrested 16 relatives overnight, Palestinians and the occupation army said Friday, and Israel Radio reported that the fathers and brothers are to be expelled to the Gaza Strip. (Read photo caption)

The violent Islamic Hamas threatened to launch "unique martyrdom operations," a reference to Resistance bomb attacks, in response to the Israeli intention to expel the families of bombers to Gaza, according to a Hamas statement issued in Gaza.

The two attacks, a bus ambush in the West Bank and a double Resistance bombing in Tel Aviv, were the first fatal strikes against Israeli civilians since Israeli forces moved into seven of the eight main Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank on June 20.

CURFEW PARTLY LIFTED IN 4 WEST BANK CITIES

The Israeli occupation army said Friday it was lifting curfews in the towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem "until further notice," and in Jenin and Hebron during the day Friday. The Israelis have said they would ease restrictions in the Palestinian towns they control if calm is maintained.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Friday that Israeli forces must remain in place to stop what he calls terror attacks, but appealed to the Palestinians to take control. Peres warned that Palestinians are facing starvation because of the harsh Israeli restrictions.

AL-NAZIR CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DOUBLE RESISTANCE BOMBING IN TEL AVIV

Another fatality of the bus ambush near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Tuesday, Yocheved Ben-Hanan, 21, died in Tel Aviv hospital Thursday, police said, bringing the death toll to nine. Three bystanders, including two foreign workers, were killed in the double Resistance bombing in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

A new group affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement called Al-Nazir, or the warning, claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv bombing, identifying the bombers as Mohammed Attala, 18, and Ibrahim Najie, 19, from the Balata refugee camp, next to Nablus.

Abdel Nasser Najie a relative, said Ibrahim Najie "used to work in Israel and knew Israel very well." He said Najie left for Israel several days ago, and the family lost connection with him. He said if relatives had known he was going to carry out a bombing attack, "we would have stopped him."

HOUSE OF BUS ATTACKER DESTROYED

Overnight, Israeli forces moved into the Askar refugee camp and the nearby village of Tel, near Nablus, the military and residents said.

In Tel, soldiers destroyed the house of Nasser Aseida, 26, leader of the Hamas military wing, suspected of organizing the bus ambush. Soldiers arrested his father and four brothers, and also detained relatives of two other wanted Hamas leaders, who are in hiding, like Aseida.

In a similar operation in the Askar refugee camp, soldiers destroyed the house of a leader of the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militia, Ali Ajouri, 23, badly damaging several nearby houses, residents said. Soldiers arrested Ajouri's father and two brothers, they said. Ajouri was not captured.

16 PALESTINIANS DETAINED

Altogether, the Israelis detained 16 men, Palestinians said. In a statement, the occupation army said the operation was "part of the war against the terrorist infrastructure." Israel Radio reported that the men are to be expelled to Gaza if legal obstacles can be overcome..

Ranya Ajouri, Ali's brother, said Israeli occupation soldiers ordered the families out of the three-story house without giving them a chance to put on clothes or shoes. Told about the possibility that the men would be sent to Gaza, she said ,"We have no relation to Ali's activities. Everyone should be responsible for his own behavior."

ISRAELIS BEGIN TO DOBT WISDOM OF THEIR GOVERNMENT'S SO-CALLED ANTI-TERROR POLICY

Questions about the effectiveness of Israel's reoccupation of West Bank population centers in stopping terror attacks have begun to emerge after the two attacks in Israel this week.

In the Yediot Ahronot daily, dovish columnist Silvi Keshet wrote that the attacks were inevitable and Israeli leaders were aware of that. "They knew very well that in this month of occupation, the people imprisoned in their homes would be preparing the next terror (Resistance) attacks, and that one day the pressure cooker would explode in our faces," she wrote.

Palestinians charge that the harsh Israeli measures are further worsening the economic situation in the West Bank, leading to food shortages and the threat of starvation.

MEDIA WATCHDOG CRITICIZES ISRAEL

Criticizing Israel in the killing of a Palestinian news photographer and the wounding of another, a media watchdog on Friday suggested the shootings represented an attempt to intimidate journalists and stem the free flow of information.

In a letter addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the International Press Institute said it "strongly condemns" the shootings a week ago. Citing unspecified sources, IPI said free-lance photographer Imad Abu Zahra was killed by Israeli machine-gun fire from an armored personnel carrier that also wounded Said Dahlah, a Palestinian colleague.

PHOTO CAPTION

Family members of wanted Palestinian militant Ali al-Ajouri search the rubble of their house after it was demolished by Israeli troops in the refugee camp of Askar, near the West Bank city of Nablus, July 19, 2002. Israel signalled a change of tactics in its battle against suicide bombings on Friday, detaining relatives of Palestinian militants for possible exile from West Bank to Gaza, as a deterrent to future attackers. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusi