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Israel Uses Palestinians As Human Shields
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| The Israeli occupation army has turned Ramallah into a war zone |
OCCUPIED
RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – A
Palestinian official accused the Israeli occupation army of using
Palestinians as a "human shield", Tuesday, April 2, to
approach a building housing the Palestinian security service
headquarters, news agencies reported.
Israeli
soldiers forced some 60 Palestinians to walk in front of tanks as
they approached the building of Colonel Jibril Rajoub's preventive
security service building, the official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
Israeli occupation army pounded the headquarters of Yasser Arafat's
security chief in the West Bank Tuesday, April 2, killing and
injuring up to 30 Palestinians.
Qatar-based
Al Jazeera satellite television reported that 5 ambulances heading
towards the security building were stopped by the Israeli occupation
army. The medics were forced to leave the vehicles and were ordered
to strip and were then taken away from the area and prevented from
providing any medical aid to the Palestinians trapped in the
building.
The
attack came after the Israeli army gave Palestinians an ultimatum to
get out of the building - where 400 hundred security personnel and
civilians are trapped - or face the consequences, a military source
claimed.
Heavy
shooting broke out between Israeli soldiers and members of the
Palestinian security service in the building, a Palestinian official
said.
Al
Jazeera contacted a civilian in a nearby building, and was informed
that there were at least 60 civilians, 20 of them children, who were
trapped in a small apartment in the building.
Al
Jazeera was told that two of the women had nervous breakdowns, and
that the children were screaming with fear.
The
Palestinian also told Al Jazeera that their food, water and medicine
supplies were almost completely finished, and that the situation was
getting desperate. “Where are the human rights organizations,
now?” he asked.
Tanks
and helicopters opened fire on the nearby security compound just
outside Ramallah and at least one building was engulfed in flames.
The
bombardment followed what the official called heavy fighting between
the Palestinian security forces inside the building and the Israeli
troops, AFP reported.
Earlier,
a dozen explosions were heard, apparently from grenade launchers, as
two attack helicopters patrolled the area.
Meanwhile,
heavy machinegun fire broke out early Tuesday in Ramallah and
grenade explosions could be heard, AFP reported.
The
shooting started at 5:55 am (0355 GMT) and was continuing with the
same intensity 30 minutes later.
It
was taking place in the district where the headquarters of the
Palestinian security service is located.
At
least a dozen explosions were heard, apparently from grenade
launchers, as two attack helicopters patrolled over the district at
low altitude.
Two
other helicopters were also seen flying over another part of town.
Ramallah has been occupied by the Israeli army
since Friday, March 30, and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has
been besieged in what remains of his headquarters, which is not in
the same sector as Rajub's building.
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