topic by
John Calvin
5/30/2002 (20:18) |
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Israeli troops rampage through Rafah and Hebron
2002-05-30 15:01:10
Xinhuanet and IAP News
30 May 2002
) At least nine Palestinians were injured on Thursday by Israeli gunfire in the town of Rafah on the border between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, as Israeli troops entered the town and bulldozed Palestinian properties, Palestinian sources said.
Medics at the Rafah medical center said that among the nine wounded, one is in critical condition, while the rest sustained light to moderate injuries.
Fierce confrontation and exchange of fire broke out in the afternoon between Palestinian freedom fighters and invading Israeli troops.
Eyewitnesses said that the Palestinian forces fired an anti- tank missile at one of the Israeli armored vehicles, directly hitting the target.
The Palestinian town has suffered almost daily incursion by Israeli army accompanied by bulldozers and tanks, local residents complained, adding dozens of them were wounded and several houses destroyed.
In the West Bank Thursday, Israeli troops used rubber bullets and tear gas against hundreds of Palestinians, most of them residents of Jerusalem, who were waiting to cross the Qalandiyah checkpoint, south of Ramallah, and enter Palestinian-controlled areas.
The checkpoint was due to open in the morning, but remained closed in high alert against terror attacks.
Israeli soldiers were preventing hundreds of trucks, with Israeli registration plates, and hundreds of people with Israeli identity cards, from crossing the checkpoint.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops left the West Bank town of Hebron few hours after tanks entered the town from three directions before daybreak looking for freedom fighters.
Between 30 and 40 armored vehicles rolled into Hebron on predawn raid, during which four wanted Palestinian men were captured.
Eyewitnesses said that they saw soldiers arresting senior Islamic Jihad militant Mohammed Sider, whom Palestinian security sources said the Israeli army had twice tried to kill.
Thousands of Israeli occupation troops took part in the operation encircling several neighborhoods in the large town and placing the bulk of the city under curfew.
Loud explosions were heard throughout the city as Israeli troops mounting armored personnel carriers fired heavily into the air and occasionally on homes.
Today's rampage in Hebron is the tenth of its kind since Israel's reoccupation of the city (pop. 170,000) in April.
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