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Israel Escalates Violence as World Attention Turns to U.S.
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli violence spiraled further out of control Sunday as Israeli tanks and helicopters blasted their way into a West Bank town, while the entire world's attention was diverted towards the attacks against the U.S.
Two Palestinians were killed and 39 injured in Israeli attacks on Ramallah and Beit Sahur, south of Jerusalem, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Among the dead were 21-year-old Palestinian ambulance driver Yahya Sabayha, who was killed while trying to evacuate wounded from Beit Sahur, and 26-year-old Ali Khader Jaber, who was shot when he went out on to the roof of his house after hearing Israeli tanks move into the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Twenty-four Palestinians were wounded in Ramallah, while 12 more were injured elsewhere in the towns of Hebron and Beit Jala, and another three were shot in Nablus, said the head of West Bank hospitals, Mussa Abu Hmeid.
Abu Hmeid also said a 70-year-old Palestinian woman, Saadia al-Bakri, died of a heart attack after Israeli tanks attacked her house and invaded it.
"Israeli soldiers prevented the ambulance from arriving on the scene and this woman could not receive treatment on time," he said.
Abu Hmeid charged that the ambulance driver's death was tantamount to a "war crime and state terrorism".
The Israeli incursion on Ramallah is the second in just as many nights.
Regular Israeli tank fire could be heard throughout the four-hour raid and Palestinian security officials said an Israeli helicopter gunship blasted a Palestinian military intelligence office, severely injuring three security officials.
Israeli tanks and troops began to withdraw at around 6:00 am (0300 GMT), although sporadic shootings occurred for several more hours.
Since the dramatic attacks on New York and Washington, which may turn out to have killed thousands of people Tuesday, Israel has been tightening its grip on the Occupied Territories and stepping up already severely aggressive military operations.
Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of using the U.S. attacks as a smokescreen for stepping up operations against them.
Meanwhile, Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres slammed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for opposing a U.S. backed meeting with Arafat.
"I do not understand why Israel should say no [to a meeting] while the United States want to create a front which will include Muslims and Arabs and is asking Israel to deploy maximum efforts for a ceasefire," Peres told Israeli public radio.
"The Americans had great hopes for this meeting," said Peres, who was to have met with the Palestinian President Sunday.
Saturday night, Peres failed to persuade the hardline Sharon to allow the meeting, Israeli television reported.
Intense diplomatic efforts have been deployed for several weeks as preliminary moves for the much-anticipated Peres-Arafat meeting.
The U.N.'s special coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, has described the planned encounter as the "last chance" to end the year-old wave of violence which has claimed more than 800 lives, the vast majority Palestinians - mainly children and teenagers.
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