WEST BANK: ISRAELI POLICE ARREST SETTLERS TRYING TO REBUILD SYNAGOGUE NEAR HEBRON.

Record ID: 230909

  • Title: WEST BANK: ISRAELI POLICE ARREST SETTLERS TRYING TO REBUILD SYNAGOGUE NEAR HEBRON.
  • Date: 1st April 2004
  • Summary: (W3) BETHLEHEM , WEST BANK (APRIL 1, 2004) (REUTERS) (AS 4889/04) 1. ISRAELI ARMY JEEPS AND TANKS ENTERING BETHLEHEM 2. JEEPS SURROUNDING MENTAL HOSPITAL WHERE THE ARMY BELIEVE WANTED MILITANTS WERE HIDING; SOLDIERS WITH DOGS PREPARING TO ENTER MENTAL HOSPITAL 3. ARMY HELICOPTER GUNSHIP FLYING OVERHEAD 4. TROOPS RUNNING AROUND WITH GUNS CLOSE TO THE HOSPITAL (AUDIO OF MACHINE GUN FIRE) 5. ARMY VEHICLES DRIVING IN AND AROUND HOSPITAL COMPOUND; SOLDIERS CLIMBING INTO HEAVILY ARMED VEHICLE 6. ARMY VEHICLES LEAVING THE AREA (U3) BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (APRIL 1, 2004) (REUTERS) 7. ISRAELI TANKS LEAVING AREA OF MENTAL HOSPITAL 8. NURSE WALKING INTO HOSPITAL CRYING 9. VARIOUS OF BROKEN WINDOWS AND BULLET HOLES IN HOSPITAL WALLS 10. PATIENTS AND DOCTORS IN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR INSPECTING DAMAGE 11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, ADEL ISSA, SAYING: "All the administrative offices have been destroyed, the office of the director and the office of the administration and the accommodation for the staff were destroyed. There is complete destruction." 12. DAMAGED OFFICES AND ROOMS 13. PATIENTS AND STAFF IN DAMAGED HOSPITAL CORRIDOR; DAMAGE IN HOSPITAL 14. SHRAPNEL AND SHELL CASES LEFT BEHIND AFTER ISRAELI RAID 15. PATIENTS AND STAFF IN HOSPITAL COURTYARD 3.08 (W5) HEBRON, WEST BANK (MARCH 31, 2004) (REUTERS) 16. MV: SETTLERS BEING DRAGGED AWAY BY POLICE AT SITE WHERE OUTPOST WAS DISMANTLED A DAY EARLIER 3.25 17. MV/PAN: SETTLER BEING DETAINED AND TAKEN TO POLICE JEEP; VARIOUS OF OTHER SETTLERS BEING DETAINED 3.39 18. GV: POLICE REMOVING BRICKS FROM SITE 3.45 19. GV/MV/PAN: MORE SETTLERS TAKEN AWAY (2 SHOTS) 4.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 16th April 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BETHLEHEM AND HEBRON, WEST BANK
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA8K0OR5GSSVQR11K20E6TTWY14
  • Story Text: Israeli troops arrest settlers trying to rebuild synagogue
    near Hebron and engage against Palestians gunmen holed up in a
    mental hospital in Bethlehem.



    Israeli soldiers fought Palestinian gunmen holed up in a
    mental hospital on Thursday (April 1) in Bethlehem as U.S. envoys
    began a visit to sound out Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on
    a Gaza withdrawal plan.

    Palestinian witnesses said 12 men, mostly known militants from
    al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that make up part of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, were detained during the raid in Bethlehem. The army said there were no casualties.

    Israeli fire directed at the gunmen in the hospital's administrative
    wing left gaping holes in walls and chunks of plaster littered the
    corridors.

    "All the administrative offices have been destroyed, the office
    of the director and the office of the administration and the accommodation for the staff were destroyed. There is complete destruction," said hospital administrative director, Adel Issa.

    Nurses comforted shaken patients after the firing stopped and
    after the wanted Palestinians came outside and surrendered.

    The Israeli army officer said the gunmen got out alive because
    troops were careful to limit their response and did not want to
    risk hitting innocent people inside the hospital.

    Israel has frequently struck against a 3 1/2-year-old Palestinian
    uprising, but now Sharon wants U.S. endorsement for his plan to
    remove Israeli forces and settlers from most of the Gaza Strip
    and some of the West Bank.

    Near the West Bank city of Hebron, scuffles erupted between
    Israeli soldiers and settlers, a day after the Israeli army
    managed to dismantle most of a Jewish outpost there.

    The dismantling process began on Wednesday (March 31) but
    settlers were once again attempting to rebuild a synagogue
    on Thursday. A group of 15 settlers, including two children,
    were arrested during the clashes.

    The Hazon David outpost was dismantled after the Supreme
    Court lifted an injunction preventing its removal. The
    outpost is the first of a handful slated for removal ahead
    of Sharon's visit to Washington.

    The removal of unauthorised outposts -- some uninhabited --
    is one of Israel's commitments under a U.S.-backed "road map"
    for peace with the Palestinians that has been stalled by
    violence and the failure of both sides to take promised steps.

    Sharon is due to visit Washington in mid-April, seeking
    approval for unilateral Israeli steps that would mean a
    pull out from the Gaza Strip.

    Palestinians would welcome any withdrawal but fear that
    Israel wants to strengthen its hold on parts of the West
    Bank where they also want a state.



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