JENIN,
West Bank, February 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) -
Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops clashed late Sunday, February
16, after at least 25 tanks, jeeps and armored personnel carriers made
a fresh incursion into the West Bank town of Jenin and its refugee
camp, Palestinian security sources said.
Medical
sources said one Palestinian was wounded after being hit in the leg by
Israeli gunfire, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
As
the force moved in backed by two Apache helicopters, troops surrounded
a number of buildings in the refugee camp and carried out
house-to-house searches, security sources said.
They
said soldiers announced a curfew over loudspeakers.
The
Israeli army had no immediate comment, but military sources said a
"routine operation" was ongoing in the area.
Meanwhile,
a third Palestinian man died in Nablus Sunday after being shot by the
Israeli army, Palestinian medical sources said.
Firas
Mbruki, 22, died several hours after the clashes ended between the
Israeli army and Palestinian gunmen that left two others dead and 28
more wounded.
The
three Palestinians were killed in Nablus as the Israeli army, which
has reoccupied almost the entire West Bank since last June, raided the
office of Taysir Khaled, a member of the executive committee of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Israel
Assassinates Activists
Six
members of the Islamic resistance group Hamas also died Sunday in a
“mysterious” explosion at a house in Gaza City, AFP said.
The
six Palestinian activist from the resistance Islamic group were killed
in a blast blamed by Hamas leaders on Israel, after three other
Palestinians were killed in an Israeli raid in Nablus to abduct a
senior PLO official.
Israel
Sealed Off Occupied Territories
 |
|
Palestinian
children walk away from the rubble of what used to be a house,
destroyed by Israeli forces in one of Israel’s "routine
operation"
|
Meanwhile,
Israel sealed off the territories indefinitely, with some security
officials saying the total blockade will not be lifted until after a
U.S.-led war on Iraq.
The
blast in the Gaza City home of a Hamas member came after Israeli
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz threatened a tough response following a
resistance blast Saturday, February 15 that gutted an Israeli tank and
killed four soldiers.
Hamas
leader Abdelaziz al-Rantissi said Israel was behind the assassination
of the activists.
"This
is a terrorist operation, 100 percent a Zionist assassination,"
he told AFP. "The Zionist occupier will pay a heavy price for
this."
Palestinian
police said they were still investigating the cause of the blast,
while the Israeli army declined to comment.
Meanwhile,
Arafat's moves to appoint a new prime minister were under threat
Sunday from an offshoot of his own Fatah faction.
‘A
Palestinian Karzai’
The
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a statement it would fight against
the imposition of a Palestinian "Karzai," a reference to
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, “appointed” after the U.S. campaign
to oust the Taliban.
The
statement lashed out at the conspiracy of terrorist parties who aimed
to force Arafat to name a prime minister to circumscribe his power.
Arafat
finally agreed to the appointment at the weekend after coming under
pressure from the United States, the international community and
Israel.
"We
will fight strongly against any Karzai imposed by these international
terrorist parties under the name of a prime minister," said the
group, which has ignored calls by Arafat to end its resistance attacks
inside Israel.
Despite
the threat, Palestinian international cooperation minister Nabil
Shaath said in Cairo that Arafat would name a premier "in two or
three weeks."
Palestinian
officials have denied the move was prompted by international pressure.
Abu
Mazen Says He Wasn't Offered PM Post
Arab
press reports have suggested that PLO second-in-command Mahmud Abbas
and finance minister Salam Fayad are the most likely candidates, with
Washington favoring the latter.
Abbas
said Sunday he had not been offered the post.
"I
am not concerned by the post of prime minister in the Palestinian
Authority," he said in Doha after talks with Qatari Emir Hamad
bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
"No
one has offered me the job. And even if they did offer it to me, I
would hesitate a long time before accepting," he added.
Meanwhile,
officials said that both Israeli and Palestinian delegations were to
travel to London Monday, February 17, for a series of meetings aimed
at furthering reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
Unlike
in January 2003, when Israel blocked Palestinian officials from
attending a British-sponsored conference which Israeli officials had
not been invited to, the Palestinians said they had received
assurances from Israel the delegation would be “allowed” to travel
this time.
The
Palestinians were to send a ministerial delegation to London, while
Israel will be represented by a low-level technical team.
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon let it be known last week that he has
renewed contacts on security issues with senior Palestinian officials,
in anticipation of expected U.S. pressure to revive the peace process
once Washington ends its showdown with Baghdad.
