OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, June 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Israeli occupation army raided West Bank towns early on Wednesday, June 19, including the Jenin refugee camp, Palestinian security sources and an Israeli spokesman said.

The move came hours after Israel decided to take military action in retaliation for a Palestinian resistance attack on a Jerusalem bus Tuesday, June 18, which killed 19 people as well as the bomber.

The sources said Israeli infantry units backed by tens of armored personnel carriers and tanks under cover of helicopter gunships had taken part in the dawn incursion to reoccupy the Jenin town and its refugee camp, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

The Jenin camp was attacked in March by the Israeli army in a massive military offensive under the name of “Defensive Shield”, resulting in the death of at least dozens of Palestinians and the destruction of hundreds of homes and buildings.

The Palestinian sources said the Israeli occupation army had towed at least five caravans by trailer into the refugee camp, suggesting it was going to stay for some time, AFP said.

The army later occupied the Palestinian self-rule town of Nablus, meeting no resistance, Palestinian security sources said. An Israeli spokesman said the army had later started to withdraw after arresting three Palestinians on their wanted list.

An Israeli spokesman said the army had also reoccupied the town of Qalqilya in the north of the West Bank, in addition to five Palestinians on charges of what he called “terrorist activities” around the West Bank towns of Hebron and Bethlehem, the Israeli spokesman said.

Late Tuesday, Israel’s mini-cabinet chaired by hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided on “a series of military actions” in retaliation for Tuesday's Palestinian resistance attack.

It said Israel’s military actions would be of a larger scale than recent army raids, which have also regularly involved Jenin and the other towns, but not of the massive scope of the first “Defensive Shield” offensive between March 29 and May 10.

Shortly after the announcement the Israeli army invaded Jenin, reaching its refugee camp overnight.

Speculation was rife late on Tuesday that Sharon would hold off on retaliating until Bush unveiled his blueprint for ending the nearly 21-month-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, AFP said.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak traveled to Jordan Wednesday to discuss with King Abdullah II the Middle East crisis and efforts to revive peace negotiations, a Cairo airport source said.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel and are also Washington’s top allies in the region, as well as close supporters of the Palestinian Authority.

Mubarak and Abdullah II recently met U.S. President George W. Bush as part of international efforts to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli confrontations and a permanent settlement for the Middle East crisis.

Bush was widely expected to unveil his blueprint for Middle East peace as early as Wednesday. Aides have said he may opt to create a “provisional” Palestinian state and call an international conference to discuss the matter.

U.S. officials said Secretary of State Colin Powell was expected to travel to the Middle East shortly after Bush showcases his eagerly awaited initiative, which the White House insisted would not be affected by the latest violence.

Powell could make the trip as early as next week to brief Israel, the Palestinians, Arab nations and other interested parties on Bush's vision and organize the international conference, the officials said.

“We’ve got to do everything we can, working with the others in the region, and elsewhere, to move towards two states living side by side in peace. We’re not going to lose sight of that focus,” said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.

Burns would not describe specifics of Bush’s plan or comment on what the administration means by a “provisional” Palestinian state, saying only that the U.S. plan could involve “steps and way-stations along the path back to a political process and ultimately to the permanent two-state solution.”

The U.S. State Department had earlier described a description of Bush’s plan in the Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat as speculative.

Al-Hayat, citing an Egyptian official, laid out the broad outlines of the strategy address Bush is expected to make this week to try to end the current round of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed after almost 21 months.

Bush will “underline his support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in zones A and B,” it said, adding that the United States had informed Egypt, a major player in the peace process, of its intentions.

Zone A covers the areas under the complete control of the Palestinian Authority in line with the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords. In Zone B, the Palestinians have administrative control while Israel is in charge of security.

“This state would have a seat at the United Nations and would be recognized at the international level and would negotiate” with Israel questions regarding its final status, Al-Hayat said.

The newspaper also said Bush plans to announce a Middle East peace conference at the “end of this summer, probably in September, in Washington, at the same time as the UN General Assembly.”

Egypt has earlier dismissed the U.S. idea of a provisional Palestinian state as “incomprehensible’ and urged Bush to take a ‘balanced” approach to the Middle East conflict.

“I have heard of an intermediary government, other intermediary things, but I have never heard of an intermediary state,” Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher sarcastically told reporters.

“It is incomprehensible, I’ve never heard anything like it,” he said after meeting on Sunday, June 16, 2002, with U.S. ambassador David Welch.

Maher also urged Bush to be fair with both sides in trying to broker an end to the Palestinian 20 month-old uprising, which has claimed more than 2,000 lives – most of which are Palestinian civilians.