A force of 15 armored vehicles broke into and closed down the branches of the two banks

By Mustafa El-Sawwaf & Maha Abdul Hadi, IOL Correspondents

RAMALLAH, February 26 (IslamOnline.net) – One Israeli soldier was killed by two Palestinian fighters in an ambush at an industrial zone on the Gaza Strip border on Thursday, February 26, hours after the occupation forces made massive raids into Palestinian areas.

The Fatah military wing claimed responsibility for the early morning attack, saying it is in retaliation for continued aggressions against the Palestinians, a spokesman for the group told IslamOnline.net.

“Resistance continues, as long as there is occupation,” the spokesman said.

The two Palestinian attackers were later killed by security forces, as at least two other Israelis were wounded in the operation at the Erez crossing.

Fourteen Palestinians were killed on Wednesday, February 11, and 52 others injured in Israeli raids in eastern Gaza City and the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, drawing large-scale retaliation threats from resistance factions.

The shooting came although security measures were stepped-up at the Erez crossing after a Palestinian woman blew herself up there on January 14. Some 3,000 Palestinian workers who flock to the crossing every day seeking work at the industrial zone. 

No immediate comment was available from the Israeli force, as Palestinian security sources said the fighters were believed to have used the canal to infiltrate the industrial zone.

Fresh Raids

The attack came hours after Israeli occupation forces raided a number of Palestinian banks in the West Bank on Wednesday, February 25.

Millions of dollars in cash were seized and a number of employees detained in the unprecedented raids.

A force of 15 armored vehicles broke into and closed down the branches of Cairo –Amman Bank and the International Palestine Bank in Ramalllah and Al-Beirah, sources in the two financial institutions told IOL.

The sources said that two staffers were detained, with no clear reasons cited.

They named them as Ahmed Abu Ghosh, the director of the computer department in the Arab Bank and Rateb Al-Eissany in the Cairo-Amman Bank.

Press reports said that soldiers covered the banks' cameras with sacks or disabled them, and confined employees to back rooms, witnesses said. Customers were allowed to leave after ID checks.

The occupation forces took the equivalent of $6.5 million to $9 million from the bank vaults, corresponding to the amount of money found in the targeted accounts, security sources said.

Israel said the raids were necessary to disclose bank accounts it claims were used to finance Palestinian resistance attacks or help families of resistance fighters.

Mafia

The Palestinian monetary authority dismissed the attacks as a “ brazen aggression on civil institutions in the teeth of all documents that guarantee the safety of people and their properties”.

Fouad Haddad, the head of the authority, said that the attacks are in violation of all Palestinian-Israeli agreement.

Palestinian Finance Minister Soliaman Fayad had signed an agreement with Israel and the United States, whereby Israel should not make any aggression against Palestinian financial institutions and coordinating stances in case of any problem or inquiry.

Prime Minister Ahmed Quorei called the raids "very, very dangerous" and others worried the raid could cause Palestinians to lose confidence in their banking system and spark a run on the banks Thursday.

"It's like the mafia," Quorei said of the raid. "I think it should be dealt with in a very serious way."

In Wednesday's bank raids, troops driving jeeps, armored personnel carriers and trucks blocked off main roads in Ramallah and declared a curfew. Shop owners were ordered to close their businesses, and residents and journalists were ordered indoors, some at gunpoint.

Some 15 Palestinians were injured, two seriously, in the incursions into the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the invading Soldiers fired tear gas, metal-core rubber bullets and also live rounds to disperse dozens of stone throwers.

Protestor Killed

Meanwhile, at least one Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire Thursday during a demonstration against a section of Israel's separation barrier northwest of Jerusalem, Palestinian medics said.