Thursday, December 26, 2002

Palestinian Christians called it one of their dreariest Christmas in the West Bank biblical town.


Israeli Troops Kill 7 in W.Bank, Re - Enter Bethlehem In
Bethlehem, troops fired teargas at Palestinians shopping near the town center, ordering them by loudspeakers to return home, and resumed patrols in front of the Church of the Nativity, which Christians revere as Jesus's birthplace.

``The curfew was put back in place a short time ago for operational needs,'' an Israeli military source said.

Several army patrols rumbled over Bethlehem's cobblestone streets on Thursday. Soldiers arrested at least one man, identified as a Palestinian intelligence officer, and there were sporadic clashes with stone-throwers.

The return to Bethlehem coincided with rapid-fire sweeps for militants in other West Bank cities and towns reoccupied by Israeli forces following a spate of suicide bombings in June.

Israeli military sources called the raids ``counter-terrorism operations.''

``The escalation of violence by (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon is aimed at creating a volatile atmosphere which he believes will serve him in his election campaign,'' Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Reuters.

``Sharon is inviting retaliation because he wants ... to prevent any possibility of an agreement (between Palestinian factions) on a cease-fire,'' he said. Sharon's government says any internal Palestinian truce discussions have not been serious.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli undercover troops riddled a car with gunfire, killing Bassem al-Ashqar of the Islamic movement Hamas, the main group behind suicide bombings against Israelis in a Palestinian uprising for independence.

An Israeli military source said troops had tried to detain two wanted men in a car but one of them opened fire. ``The force returned fire and killed him,'' the source said. The second fugitive was taken into custody, he added.

Palestinian witnesses denied anyone had shot at Israeli soldiers in the incident.

Witnesses said troops also shot dead a 19-year-old bystander and an army spokesman said another Palestinian was shot dead later in Ramallah while trying to escape arrest.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html In

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