Israeli Tanks Withdraw From Jenin After Raid

Slideshows AP Photo Mideast Conflict

By Wael al-Ahmad

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli tanks began withdrawing from the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town of Jenin on Tuesday after a three-hour night-time attack in which troops raided key Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) buildings, witnesses said.

The Israeli army said the operation was intended to destroy a Palestinian police building in ``response to a series of terror attacks,'' including a Palestinian suicide bombing at a cafe near Haifa in which the bomber was killed and 15 Israelis wounded.

Tanks rumbled into Jenin after a troop build-up on Monday afternoon which frayed the nerves of Palestinians who feared an Israeli military reprisal for two suicide bombings launched from the West Bank town in recent days.

Demolishing two Palestinian checkpoints with tank rounds, the Israeli armor pushed into the center of Jenin where soldiers briefly seized a building belonging to the town's governor and the main security headquarters in Jenin.

The security building is used by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) on rare visits to Jenin.

Armored bulldozers flattened two adjacent police buildings in the town, Palestinian officials said. The army said in a statement it would ``continue to act as necessary to prevent terror and protect Israeli civilians and soldiers.''

It said its troops held their fire to prevent casualties among civilians living in the heavily populated town and withdrew after destroying what Palestinian officials said was a relatively minor police building.

Four Palestinian security officers were wounded in firefights with Israeli soldiers which flared across the town, Palestinian hospital officials reported. They said it appeared no one else was seriously hurt in the fighting.

As the Israeli forces began to withdraw, Palestinians ran into the streets cheering and claiming a military victory over Israel. Some people fired automatic rifles into the air in joy.

During the incursion, the sounds of fighting and machinegun fire echoed through Jenin, which was handed over to Palestinian rule in 1995 under interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals.

Carrying loudspeakers, Palestinian activists called on members of the security forces and residents who owned guns to take to the streets and confront the Israeli forces.

Palestinian witnesses said undercover Israeli soldiers, dressed in civilian clothes, exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen in the town's streets. Machineguns mounted on tanks were also fired, Palestinian witnesses reported.

The incursion appeared to be the deepest Israeli military foray into Palestinian-ruled territory in the West Bank since an uprising against Israeli occupation erupted last September after peace talks deadlocked.

Israeli troops temporarily reoccupied a Palestinian-ruled part of the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) in April, but withdrew amidst a wave of international condemnation.

At least 517 Palestinians, 147 Israelis and 14 Israeli Arabs have been killed in more than 10 months of fighting.

Earlier Stories
Israeli Tanks Enter Jenin, Heavy Fighting Erupts (August 13)

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