Israel Holds 2,000 W.Bank Palestinians - Witnesses
By Muin Shadeed
TULKARM, West Bank (Reuters) -
Israeli troops rounded up
around 2,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of
Tulkarm on Wednesday in a fresh crackdown on suspected
militants, local witnesses said.
Soldiers in tanks and armored vehicles backed by
helicopters imposed a curfew and searched homes for militants
before telling males aged 14-40 to gather in the courtyard of a
local school or face punishment, residents told Reuters.
It was the largest round-up of Palestinians in Tulkarm for
a year and came after an Islamic militant from a nearby village
blew himself up outside a cafe in the Israeli seaside town of
Netanya on Sunday, wounding 30 people.
An army spokesman said troops were searching anew for
militants involved in a 30-month-old Palestinian uprising
against Israel for an independent state, but gave no details.
Israeli forces have arrested thousands of suspected
militants during the conflict, many of them in citywide
dragnets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites). Many have been
released within hours but others remain in detention without
charge.
The United States, chief mediator in the conflict, is now
preoccupied with war in Iraq (news - web sites) and -- facing rising anti-American
resentment in the Arab world -- has urged Israel to restrain
military operations, and urged the Palestinians to curb
attacks.
Palestinian violence has tailed off somewhat since U.S. and
British forces invaded Iraq on March 20 while Israel has eased
off on raids against Islamic militants in Gaza.
In response to Sunday's bombing, which the Islamic Jihad
said was a gift to the people of Iraq, Israel razed the home of
the 19-year-old bomber in a village outside Tulkarm on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces demolished the Hebron home of
a militant who the army said had shot dead an Israeli and
carried out many other attacks.
Palestinians and human rights organizations condemn house
demolitions as collective punishment, while Israel says the
practice is necessary to deter attacks.
Israeli soldiers arrested 11 suspected militants elsewhere
in the West Bank on Wednesday, including three in Bethlehem.
At least 1,959 Palestinians and 727 Israelis have been
killed since Palestinian militants rose up in September 2000
after peace negotiations stalled.
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