Israeli tanks shelled Tuesday PA posts in the West Bank city of Jenin in another incursion into the city, while Palestinian fighters shot to death two Israeli border guards and injured another in Tulkarem.
Early Monday evening, a large number of Israeli tanks, bulldozers and troops had taken up position near Jenin, effectively placing the city under blockade, said the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
Witnesses said that tanks began firing shells at the city around 3.00 a.m.
As a result, the electricity supply in the city was cut off.
The tanks moved up to the first row of houses in Jenin. The engineering force also blocked roads leading from Jenin to nearby villages.
The agency said that at least seven Palestinians were injured when Israeli tanks shelled the Jenin refugee camp.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the PA is concerned that the Israeli army will carry out heavy military strikes in the area as retaliation for three Palestinian attacks in Israel on Sunday that killed five people.
Residents of Jenin took to the streets Monday evening, and erected road blocks after announcements were made from mosques to prepare for an Israeli invasion.
Israeli security sources said that the operation could continue for several days, Haaretz added.
Diplomatic sources told the paper that the Jenin operation would be similar to that carried out two weeks ago in Beit Jala.
Also, Israeli security forces closed down several of the Palestinian Authority security offices in the villages of Abu Dis and Al Azariya on the outskirts of Jerusalem overnight Monday.
Both villages are in area B, which is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control.
The offices of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), located in Al Azariya, were also closed, said the paper.
Meanwhile, the Israeli security cabinet is set to meet Tuesday to discuss the government's policy toward the Palestinian Authority.
It said that Finance Minister Silvan Shalom suggested Monday that the government discuss whether Palestinian President Yasser Arafat should be allowed to remain in the region.
TWO ISRAELI BORDER GUARDS KILLED IN TULKAREM
Palestinian resistance fighters shot dead two Israeli border guards and injured another overnight when they opened fire on their base in northern Israel on the West Bank border, police sources said Tuesday.
The automatic-weapon attack targeted four police guards at the base north of the autonomous Palestinian West Bank town of Tulkarem, they told Haaretz.
The attacks came amidst efforts to organize a meeting between Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
Israeli troops accompanied by dogs and aided by a helicopter hunted for the attackers, firing flares in an attempt to locate the attackers who appeared to have fled towards Palestinian territory, the sources added – Albawaba.com
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