Despite the world's comdemnation on its aggression,ignoring the world's urging for its immediate withdrawal, Israel continued and expanded its military actions in Palestine controlled areas. The following are the latest military development of Israeli troops on April 3.
Israeli Tanks Move Into Jenin
Dozens of Israeli tanks rolled into the northern West Bank town of Jenin early on Wednesday, said the Israeli army.
An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the incursion, saying troops had entered the city at around 4:00 am (0100 GMT).
The predawn incursion touched off heavy clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops as tanks swept into central Jenin, the Palestinian autonomous town in the north of West Bank, Palestinian security sources said.
Since Friday, Israeli soldiers have taken control of several West Bank towns, including Ramallah and Bethlehem.
Israeli Army Prepares to Storm Church of Nativity
Fighting between the Israeli army and armed Palestinians in the West Bank city of Bethlehem broke out late Tuesday night.
Eyewitnesses said there were dead bodies in front of the Church of Nativity as about 100 Palestinian families sought refuge in the church. Other families sought protection in a Syrian orthodox church in old town.
"Can you imagine? Can you believe it? They are attacking the Church of Nativity, the Syrian Orthodox Church, and burn and demolish mosques," Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said earlier in a special interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera Satellite Television.
Palestinian sources said that the Israeli army threatened Tuesday midnight to break into the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, claiming that wanted Palestinians by Israel are hiding into the Church.
Eyewitnesses said large number of Israeli troops began to besiege the church and threatened the people that they are preparing to storm and break inside by using loudspeakers and speaking in broken Arabic accent to the people inside.
The witnesses said that they saw the Israeli army is bringing more reinforcement of infantry troops and armored vehicles.
Israeli troops entered the city Monday night as dozens of tanks, armored vehicles and infantry troops raided the town.
Israeli Army Move Captured Palestinian Officers for Interrogation
The Israeli army on Tuesday ended its five-day siege on the headquarters of the Palestinian security in the West Bank town of Ramallah and moved 400 hundred Palestinian officers to Israel for interrogation, Palestinian sources said.
Israel put 15 Israeli tanks and two Apache helicopters into operations Monday night to storm the Palestinian security building.
The Israeli army said they were trying to bring the most wanted Palestinians to Israel for confinement.
Israeli officials said the crisis ended after negotiations between both sides through mediation of CIA representatives, adding that the Palestinian officers were being taken to detention camps for interrogation.
Under the US-brokered agreement, the Palestinian officers will be detained by Israel for 24 hours to determine whether any of them is the wanted person on the Israeli list, according to Israeli officials.
But Colonel Jibril Rajoub, Palestinian preventive security chief, denied that there were negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians through the CIA mediation. He said that the Palestinian officers inside the building decided to surrender themselves.
He charged that the Israeli army drove more than 60 Palestinians in front of their tanks as a human shield. For the sake of those Palestinians, the preventive security officers decided to surrender, he said.
Israeli army busses have taken more than 300 people to a detention camp, where the Israeli army will interrogate each one of them. Israeli army said those who are wanted will be arrested and those who are not will be released.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army lifted the curfew imposed on Ramallah since Friday for two hours in the afternoon to allow the residents to buy food, medicine and gas.
Doctors, nurses and residents took the chance to bury the bodies of 25 Palestinians having been kept inside the hospital's refrigerators since Friday.
The 25 Palestinians, most of them police and security officers, were buried in a collective grave. Many of them are not yet identified, Palestinian officials said.
Palestinian medical sources said on a separate occasion that the Israeli army had arrested Younis Al Khatib, director general of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Ramallah, and seven other members of the Palestinian medical teams.
Israel Steps Up Military Operations
The Israeli army intensified its widespread military offensive Tuesday against Palestinian towns, refugee camps and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where medical sources said 12 Palestinians were killed.
Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian child west of the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, local medical sources said.
The troops stationed near the settlement of Neveh Dekalim opened fire at a group of Palestinian boys playing in the area, killing the 12-year-old Khalid Salah, the sources said.
Local residents said that it was quiet when Israeli troops opened fire at the children playing near the wire fence of the Israeli settlement.
In the West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinians said that Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian militant after a short exchange of fire. The Israeli soldiers chased him until he was shot and killed.
Medical sources in Bethlehem reported that five Palestinians were killed in the holy West Bank town during an Israeli army raid launched early Tuesday.
The sources said that among the five victims were a Palestinian woman and her son. An Israeli tank fired a shell at their house in the town.
Initial reports said that four Palestinian militants were killed in a gunbattle in Bethlehem between them and Israeli troops who tightens on Tuesday night their military actions into the town.
In another incident, a Palestinian woman was shot and killed near the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Palestinian sources also revealed that Israeli troops prevented a pregnant woman from Bethlehem who needed delivery from reaching the Bethlehem Maternity Hospital, and the woman and the baby died before reaching the hospital.
Palestinian security sources said that dozens of Israeli army tanks and armored vehicles headed infantry troops on Tuesday evening into the northern West Bank town of Jenin in a new military operation.
Food Sent to Arafat's Compound
Israel said Tuesday that it had sent food, water and medicines to Arafat's office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
A spokesman of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that they had also distributed milk products, petrol and gas to the local civilian residents.
According to the list given by the spokesman, the provisions supplied to Arafat's office include 66 containers of yellow cheese, 34 crates of mineral water and some medicines such as antibiotics and pain Killers.
The IDF spokesman also announced a temporary lifting of the curfew over most parts of Ramallah Tuesday afternoon except for the surrounding areas of the Arafat's compound.
"The lifting of the curfew is for humanitarian purposes in order to allow the civilian Palestinian residents to stock up on provisions," the announcement said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2002)
