Large Israeli forces moved into the West Bank city of Tulkarem and its environs in the early hours of Thursday.
The Israeli forces occupied parts of the city and the two nearby refugee camps of Tulkarem and Nur A-Shams.
Palestinians were confined to their homes as troops carried out house-to-house searches for operatives.
At least six Palestinians have been killed since midnight. One Palestinian was killed and three others injured by a rocket from a helicopter gunship in Tulkarem, Palestinian security sources said Thursday. Some 50 tanks and armoured vehicles had entered the city, while other units surrounding a refugee camp where the Palestinian was killed.
Israeli F-16 fighter jets then attacked the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Force 17 personal guard in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Palestinian security sources said.
They said at least two missiles had hit the building, which had already been attacked the evening before.
In another incident, a senior member of Islamic Jihad's military wing, was killed by Israeli troops in a village south of the West Bank city of Jenin, in what Palestinians claimed was an assassination by Israel. They said soldiers killed Mohammed Anani, 27, at his house in the village of Siris and arrested another man there.
In the Gaza Strip, naval commandos backed by Israeli helicopters targeted Palestinian security forces north of Gaza City. Helicopters also struck Palestinian Authority security installations in Bethlehem.
Powell
The Israeli attacks come as US Secretary of State Colin Powell late on Wednesday said Israel’s prime minister Ariel Sharon should "take a hard look at his policies and see whether they will work" while also demanding more action from Arafat against Islamic activists.
"If you declare war against the Palestinians and think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians you can kill, I don't know that leads us anywhere," Powell said.
It was one of the strongest U.S. criticisms of Israeli policy since the Bush administration took office and followed days of extreme violence in the Middle East.
On Monday, Sharon said that before peace talks start with the Palestinians "they must first be hit hard ... so that they understand terrorism will achieve nothing."
Powell, who spoke to Sharon on Tuesday, said Israel and the Palestinians were both following policies that would lead to more violence. "It's tragic situation," he added.
"I'm not satisfied that both sides have thought through the consequences of the policies they are following," he said. He repeated the U.S. appeal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to do more to crack down on Palestinian elements which attack Israelis.
"He has a responsibility to bring these groups under control ... Mr. Arafat has to do more, can do more, must do more," he said.
According to Haaretz, the Prime Minister's Office responded to Powell's criticism Wednesday night in a formal statement. The statement said that Israel has never declared war on the Palestinians, but that it was fighting “terror” organizations out of self defense. "The Palestinian Authority and its leader have forced the war on Israel, and those who have initiated the war, also has the power to stop it," the statement said.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan bluntly told Israeli and Palestinian leaders that history would judge them harshly for what he called the appalling carnage inflicted on their peoples. Saying the "situation has clearly got completely out of hand", Annan warned Sharon and Arafat to steer their people away from bloodshed. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
