Saturday, June 29, 2002

Trying to Roust Militants, Israel Blasts Building in Hebron
Hebron, like all but one of the eight major cities in the West Bank, remained under strict curfew, part of a major Israeli military operation to curb suicide bombing by rounding up suspected militants. The operation has confined 700,000 Palestinians to their homes.

Despite the curfew, tanks and police patrols, many Palestinians here ventured cautiously into the streets. Some scattered when cars drove by, but others pointedly kept on playing soccer on streets imprinted with the marks of tank treads, or shopped furtively at vegetable stands tended by children.

"The people of Hebron have been under four days of curfew, being humiliated," said Fawzi Owaiwi, 79, who has not left his home, which is in view of the battered Palestinian compound, since Tuesday. "How would Americans feel if they were under this situation? Our people are asking for one thing: their legitimate rights. Americans should be fair."

Mr. Owaiwi's comments reflected a surge in anti-American sentiment around Palestinian areas, an ever-present anger sharpened since President Bush's speech on Monday calling for the ouster of Yasir Arafat as a condition for American support for a Palestinian state. Many Palestinians say Mr. Bush sided exclusively with the Israelis in his speech.

The Israeli military said it detained nine suspected militants overnight Thursday in the West Bank, including a member of Mr. Arafat's Fatah movement, at his home near Bethlehem. Late on Thursday, the Israeli military reported that three children in Qalqilya were wounded when troops opened fire on people breaking the curfew. One, a 9-year-old boy, was shot in the head. Palestinian officials said the children were shot as they ventured out to buy school supplies for final exams, believing that the curfew had been eased for that purpose.

The army said in a statement that "preliminary investigation shows that the soldiers acted improperly, and the army expresses its regret."
but as usual, no one will be punished A.I.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/29/international/middleeast/29MIDE.html

No comments:

Post a Comment

con·cept