Saturday, August 17, 2002

Israeli Troops Launch Security Crackdown in Hebron
Israeli soldiers combed the streets of Hebron on Saturday, rounding up more than 150 Palestinians and throwing stun grenades into a market to disperse crowds breaking a curfew, witnesses said.

Palestinian witnesses said soldiers in the center of the flashpoint West Bank city wounded several people by throwing stun grenades into crowds of shoppers at an open-air market to make them go home.

Doctors at Hebron's Al-Ahli Hospital said at least five Palestinians were treated for shrapnel injuries and burns caused by the exploding casings of the grenades.

Frustrated by a failure to stop militants entering Israel, the Israeli government has in recent weeks renewed a policy condemned by rights groups of demolishing the houses of relatives of militants as a way of deterring further strikes.

Troops on Friday destroyed the family homes of two Palestinian militants held responsible for the killings of at least 17 Israelis during the nearly two-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has sought new ways to discourage Palestinian suicide bombings and ambush shootings, including house demolitions and an attempt to deport several family members of militants from the West Bank to Gaza.

The army says it has destroyed at least 23 homes since last month to send a message to ``suicide terrorists and those participating that terror activity has a price and everybody involved in one way or another will pay.''

But human rights organizations and Palestinians condemn the policy as collective punishment violating international law.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html

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