Many die in battles with Israeli army

April 8, 2002



The fighting and violence in the West Bank has intensified over the last 48 hours. This is despite ever-angrier calls for an Israeli army withdrawal from President Bush and EU threats of sanctions, writes David Horovitz

Dozens of Palestinian gunmen were killed over the weekend in Jenin and Nablus in the fiercest battles of Israel's 10-day military offensive in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 98 Palestinians had been killed since the offensive began, most of them in the past 48 hours.

Bizarrely, the Israeli chief of staff, Gen Shaul Mofaz, put the figure considerably higher at 200, and said 11 Israeli soldiers had been killed. The fighting is intensifying despite ever-angrier calls for a pullout from President Bush and EU threats of sanctions.

Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, told his colleagues yesterday that while he had promised to try and "expedite" the operation, he would not order a withdrawal until the army had "rooted out the terrorists" responsible for bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets.

The heaviest fighting was concentrated in the narrow alleys of Jenin refugee camp, towards the northern edge of the West Bank, launching pad for a series of Islamic Jihad suicide attacks, and in the casbah area of Nablus, further south. In Nablus, Hamas and Fatah gunmen are vowing to fight to the death.

Israeli troops have been attempting to gain control of both areas since the middle of last week, and the two cities have been under almost unbroken curfews, with residents confined to their homes.

In Nablus, the Arafat-appointed governor, Mr Mahmood Alul, said at least nine fighters were killed yesterday - other Palestinian sources spoke of up to three times as many fatalities - and that numerous dead bodies were lying in a mosque in the casbah.

Israeli military officials said nine wanted men had been arrested inside Mr Alul's house, having forced their way in against his wishes. They also said they had uncovered several explosives factories.

In the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli troops were backed up by fire from tanks and helicopter gunships. A Hamas official spoke of bodies lying in the streets for days and supplies of food running low.

Reports from both areas indicated that the army had demolished homes to enable freer access for tanks, and that soldiers were cutting through the walls of houses to avoid booby-trap bombs and sniper fire in the alleys. Mr Ran Kitrey, the army's spokesman, said last night that most of the Jenin camp was now held by Israeli forces.

However, they would not fall back until the search for "wanted militants, their homes, their bases, the armories and explosives stores" was completed.

Israel has made over 1,200 arrests throughout the West Bank over the 10 days, and says that 340 of those being held were on its "wanted" lists.

Nablus, Jenin and other focal points have been declared "closed military zones". Journalists are denied access and details of the fighting hard to confirm.

Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross are adamant, however, that the army is preventing ambulances from evacuating the wounded in many areas - with the case of a Nablus woman who reached her local hospital on foot but too late to save the life of her five-month baby only one example of civilians paying the bitter price of the conflict.

"Hospital generators are not working," said Mr Stefan Ziegler, from the Red Cross. "And what is most needed is that the ambulances start getting through. This is a catastrophe in humanitarian terms."

In Gaza, where Israel has yet to concentrate heavy forces, a soldier was killed on Saturday when two Islamic Jihad gunmen tried to infiltrate the settlement of Rafah Yam. The two gunmen were shot dead.