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Sharon: Army will remain "until the terrorists surrender" |
NABLUS,
West Bank, April 11 (News Agencies) – A few hours before the arrival
of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon said that his army would remain in occupied Palestinian towns
"until the terrorists surrender.”
"I've
warned the Americans that the Israeli army will not withdraw from
Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah until all the terrorists there
have surrendered," he said.
Meanwhile,
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the operation could last up to
three weeks, with officials warning that leaving without smashing
militant infrastructures would only mean an even more costly return
later.
The
army said it had moved out of two dozens villages while taking up
positions in other towns and continuing to patrol the main hotspots of
Jenin, Nablus in the north and Ramallah and Bethlehem in the center.
However,
the Palestinians bitterly contested the Israeli withdrawal statement,
calling it a "big lie."
The
sheer size of the Israeli operation, launched March 29 military
offensive on the West Bank, was driven home with the announcement that
the army had abducted 4,185 Palestinians.
Around
700 were captured in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, which fell
under complete Israeli control early Thursday after tense night-long
negotiations.
However,
troops made no move to leave the town and adjacent refugee camp, where
23 Israeli soldiers and some 100 Palestinians were killed in a bitter
week-long street battle, the deadliest confrontation of the campaign
so far.
