MIDDLE EAST: In one of the worst days of violence in several weeks, the Israeli army yesterday killed seven Palestinians - five armed men and two bystanders - on the West Bank as undercover troops launched a series of hunts for militiamen.
In Bethlehem, army vehicles rumbled back into the biblical city and reimposed a curfew that the military had lifted for the duration of Christmas.
In the northern West Bank town of Kabatiya, troops surrounded the home of the militant Islamic Jihad leader there, Hamza Abu Roub (35), and demanded his surrender. He sent out his wife and children, but then began shooting at the soldiers who returned fire and killed him, the army said. The military then destroyed his home. Four soldiers were injured in the gun battle.
Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in Ramallah, including a 19-year-old traffic policeman. Among the dead was an aide to a senior Hamas militant, Ayman Rashidi, who Israel had been hunting. After undercover troops approached Mr Rashidi's car, his aide, Bassem el-Ashkar, pulled out a gun and troops shot him dead, the army said. Mr Rashidi was unharmed and surrendered to the troops. Palestinian eyewitnesses denied anyone had opened fire on the troops. A third Palestinian, a member of the Tanzim militia, was shot dead later after the army said he tried to escape arrest.
The army killed two Palestinians in Nablus in gun-fights in the city, including a 17-year-old youth. In Tul Karm, soldiers killed an unarmed member of the Al Aqsa Brigades militia, which is linked to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Fatah party. The army said he was shot after he tried to flee; Palestinians said he was a political activist.
Palestinian officials accused Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, of trying to ignite violence in the hope it would win him more support among Israelis ahead of the January 28th general election. "The escalation of violence by Sharon is aimed at creating a volatile atmosphere which he believes will serve him in his election campaign," said Palestinian Information Minister, Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo. In Bethlehem, jeeps re-entered the city and troops ordered the residents back into their homes. Under international pressure to exit Bethlehem for Christmas, including a call by Pope John Paul II, the government had ordered troops and armoured vehicles back to the city outskirts on the eve of Christmas. The army said the curfew had been reimposed for security reasons.
The army, it emerged yesterday, has recently begun building security buffer zones around West Bank settlements, in which special rules of engagement apply, allowing soldiers to open fire at anyone who infiltrates them. The zones extend a few hundred metres beyond the settlements.
Officers said the idea behind the zones was to ensure that soldiers were able to engage Palestinian gunmen planning to attack a settlement some distance from the settlers' homes. The security fences around most West Bank settlements are much closer to the homes.
"It's just to ensure that you have a forward defence deployment so you don't engage the terrorists inside the compound or inside the village," said Mr Raanan Gissin, an aide to Prime Minister Sharon.
Palestinian officials accused Israel of using the buffer zones as a pretext to expand settlements. "Sharon wants to make sure by 2005 that it will be impossible to create a Palestinian state because of the settlements," said Palestinian Minister, Mr Saeb Erekat, referring to a US-backed peace plan that calls for the creation of an independent state within three years.
AFP adds: The Israeli army is concerned about a surge in Palestinian attacks in the event of a US-led strike against Iraq, the Jerusalem Post reported yesterday, citing a senior military officer. The central command officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he expected attacks in which Palestinians wished to "show their support for Iraq and Saddam Hussein".
The officer added there was no evidence of al-Qaeda cells operating on the West Bank, but said there were constant attempts by groups based in Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq to transfer funds and extend support to militant groups.