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Palestinians Brace for Escalation After Killing of Three Israeli Troops
OCCUPIED GAZA CITY, Aug 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Palestinians braced for further Israeli military strikes Saturday after Palestinian commandos killed three Israeli soldiers in an overnight attack in the Gaza Strip, and a day after the Jewish state vowed it would step up its military attacks against the Intifada or uprising.
The daring raid, which also left two Palestinian combatants dead, was claimed by the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), but Israel said ultimate blame rested with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, currently on a world tour.
The army reacted quickly to the surprise raid, sealing off the southern Gaza Strip from Khan Yunis to Rafah, Palestinian security sources said, adding that two Israeli helicopters were overflying the area.
Israeli tanks and armored jeeps also massed on a crossroads outside Gaza City to block the main road, Palestinian officials said, adding that army blockade ran from Khan Yunis to Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
Palestinian officials said security staff had evacuated their bases in anticipation of retaliatory strikes.
The raid on a military outpost on a Jewish settlement area came just a day after Defense Minister of the Israeli Occupation
Forces Binyamin Ben Eliezer promised a tough line in the fight against the Palestinian uprising.
Taysir Khaled, a senior DFLP official who also sits on the the PLO's executive committee, vowed that such attacks would go on until the Israelis pull out of the occupied Palestinian territories.
"This was a response against Israeli crimes committed by (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon, and we will continue in this way until the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories ends," said Khaled.
The army said two Palestinian combatants managed to sneak through the barbed wire and ditch defenses of the post commanding access to the Gush Katif Jewish settlement bloc, opening fire with assault rifles and throwing grenades at the soldiers.
Israeli General Doron Almog said his troops and the Palestinians had been locked in hand-to-hand combat at one point during the raid.
The army initially identified two of its dead -- Major Gil Oz, 30, and Chief Sergeant Nir Kobi, 21.
Palestinian officials said the bodies of the two slain combatants had been handed back to their families later in the day.
General Almog cast doubts over the DFLP claim to the attack, saying it was more likely the work of Abu Rish, a small faction of Arafat's Fatah movement which is active in the area.
But Meir Rosen, a close Sharon advisor, said that it was Arafat himself who was behind the bloody attack.
"It is clear that the operation last night, no matter which organization claims responsibility, was carried out with the approval of Yasser Arafat", Rosen said.
Sharon has repeatedly said Israel would only consider talks with the Palestinians after a period of calm.
Ben Eliezer warned after Israeli tanks rolled into a Palestinian zone of the West Bank town of Hebron late Thursday that Israel would not tolerate attacks on its citizens.
Sharon advisor Dore Gold said Friday the Hebron incursion was "a clear message to the Palestinians, which means we are determined to win this war of attrition which was imposed upon us."
And U.S. President George W. Bush increased pressure Arafat, saying his inability or unwillingness to halt occupation resistance operations was the main reason the peace process was deadlocked.
"If Mr. Arafat is interested in having a dialogue ... then I strongly urge him to urge the Palestinian terrorists to stop the suicide bombings," Bush said.
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