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Israel Abducts 12
Palestinians, Arafat Calls For Zinni’s Return
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| Israel
carries out a series of abductions near Bethlehem |
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, Jan. 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Israeli occupation
army abducted 10 Palestinians (allegedly) suspected of carrying out activities
hostile to the Jewish state in the Bethlehem region of the West Bank early
Thursday, a military communique said, news agencies reported.
The
abductions were made in the villages of Al Khadr, Hussan, Battir and Nahhalin
near Bethlehem in sectors where Israel is responsible for security and the
Palestinian Authority exercises civil powers, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
abducted suspects were to be interrogated, the communique claimed.
In
another incident, an Israeli snatch squad abducted two Palestinians in the
Palestinian-governed sector of Hebron in the West Bank Thursday, a Palestinian
security source said.
Israeli
occupation troops entered the Palestinian sector of the divided city, opened
fire on two men, Hazem Kawasmeh and Abdelaziz Ahweki, and then took them away,
the source added.
The
source could not say if the pair had been wounded in the operation.
Meanwhile,
Palestinians opened fire on an Israeli car driving on the outskirts of Bethlehem
in the West Bank early Thursday, slightly wounding a passenger, a source close
to Jewish settlers in the region said.
The
incident occurred near the Israeli settlement of Ephrat, according to AFP.
A
military spokesman said in a statement that "Palestinians fired Thursday
morning at two Israeli vehicles near Ephrat, very slightly wounding a female
passenger."
Palestinian
President, Yasser Arafat, asked on Wednesday for the return of the U.S. envoy to
the region.
Nabil
Abu Rudeineh, a top Arafat aide said Arafat made the request in a telephone
conversation with U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell. He added that Arafat
briefed Powell on the latest wave of (Israeli) violence in the West Bank.
U.S
envoy, Anthony Zinni, has been in the region twice recently in a bid to end
about 18 months of fighting that has seen more than 1,000 Palestinians - the
majority of whom are women and children - and more than 250 Israelis killed.
Zinni
has failed in his mission to implement former Sen. Majority leader, George
Mitchell's recommendations and CIA director, George Tenet's plan.
Those
plans outline a sequence of steps, including a ceasefire, seven days of quiet, a
six-week cooling off period and confidence-building measures that include a
settlement freeze.
"President
Arafat and Mr. Powell exchanged views on the current situation," Abu
Rudeineh said. "Both had agreed to continue their contacts to be able to
face the current incidents."
The
call for increased U.S. mediation came as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Daniel
Kurtzer, spoke before Jewish and Arab students at a liberal-leaning college in
Givat Haviva saying the United States could not solve problems in the Middle
East if people in the region did not pressure their governments to solve the
conflict.
"We
are not going to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict," Kurtzer said. "The
United States is not going to do it. If the people, the Israelis and
Palestinians, don't put pressure on their governments to solve it, it doesn't
matter who you get as a third party," he stated.
"It's
going to take a concerted effort on the part of the people on both sides,
Israelis and Palestinians, to persuade their respective governments that the
time has come to stop this."
Late
Wednesday, Israeli jet fighters fired missiles on south Lebanon after an attack
by the Lebanese Hezbollah, against its army posts in a disputed border area,
reported BBC’s online news service.
In
Israel's first air raid on Lebanon in three months, the warplanes reportedly
fired two missiles at suspected Hezbollah positions near Kfarshouba, a village
facing the Shebaa Farms.
Israeli
artillery also fired a number of shells, Lebanese security sources said.
The
attack came after Hezbollah fired rockets and mortars at three Israeli army
posts.
It
was not immediately clear if they were hit, but witnesses reported thick smoke
rising from the area.
An
Israeli army spokesman said no one had been wounded.
There
were no immediate reports of casualties on the Lebanese side.
The
Shebaa Farms have been a flashpoint since Israel pulled out of Lebanon in May
2000 - but have been quiet for several months.
Israel
occupied the Lebanese farms in 1967, and still refuses to leave them.
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