WEST BANK/JERUSALEM: ISRAELI ARMY DESTROY TWO PALESTINIAN HOMES IN HEBRON IN RETALIATORY ATTACK FOR SHOOTING OF AN 11-YEAR-OLD SETTLER BOY

Record ID: 400461

  • Title: WEST BANK/JERUSALEM: ISRAELI ARMY DESTROY TWO PALESTINIAN HOMES IN HEBRON IN RETALIATORY ATTACK FOR SHOOTING OF AN 11-YEAR-OLD SETTLER BOY
  • Date: 23rd August 2001
  • Summary: (W2)HEBRON, WEST BANK (AUGUST 23 AND 24, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (NIGHT SHOTS) 1. VARIOUS OF EXCHANGE OF FIRE (2 SHOTS) 0.38 2. LV'S: ISRAELI ARMY JEEPS AND ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER DRIVING THROUGH (AUDIO FIRE) (2 SHOTS) 1.00 3. WS: CARS ON STREET, BRIGHT STREET LIGHTS GIVING RED GLOW (AUDIO FIRING) 1.11 4. PAN: AMBULANCE
  • Embargoed: 7th September 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: HEBRON, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA5M3I6DZLDY8G0UDL6XZ2HZT3X
  • Story Text: The Israeli army has blown up two houses in a deep
    thrust into a Palestinian-ruled area of the West Bank city of
    Hebron in an operation the army said was in retaliation for
    the shooting of an 11-year-old settler boy the day before.

    Palestinian security sources said two Palestinians were
    killed in fighting that erupted when Israeli armoured
    personnel carriers and jeeps briefly took control of hilltops
    overlooking the Jewish settler enclave in the heart of the
    divided city.


    The Israeli army said on Thursday (August 23) it had
    decided on a limited operation to destroy two Palestinian
    homes that had repeatedly been used by snipers to shoot on
    Jewish settlers below.

    Helicopter machine-gun fire echoed overnight, as Israeli
    forces reinforced troops in an area of Hebron where some
    soldiers were briefly trapped and surrounded by gunmen
    resisting the occupation.

    As soon as Israeli troops converged on Palestinian
    neighbourhoods, residents called for jihad, or holy war.

    Chants of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) rang out, as red
    tracer bullets streaked across the night sky.

    An army spokesman in Hebron said one soldier was hurt in
    the resistance to the six km (four mile) penetration, one of
    the deepest into Palestinian-ruled territory since an uprising
    against Israeli occupation erupted in September.

    Palestinian security sources said two Palestinians were
    killed during the operation, but the hospital could not
    confirm this.

    Diab Sharabati, the leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah Party
    in Hebron said:
    "What happened in Hebron tonight reaffirms our solidarity
    and our belief that Sharon's (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
    Sharon) attempts to enter areas under Palestinian autonomy is
    no walk (in the park) and their stay will be no honeymoon. All
    our factions are united to repel the invader."
    The ancient city of Hebron, home to 120,000
    Palestinians, is one of the most sensitive areas in the West
    Bank due to the Jewish settlement in its centre which houses
    some 400 Israelis.

    It has been a flashpoint for violence in the Palestinian
    uprising which erupted after peace talks stalled.

    Jewish settlers have demanded Abu Sneineh hill, directly
    above the Avraham Avinu settlement, be reoccupied since March
    when a Palestinian sniper stationed there shot dead the
    10-month-old settler baby.

    Noam Aron, a settler spokesman on Friday (August 24)
    praised the Israeli soldiers' incursion.

    "What the army has done yesterday is only a small sign to
    what should be (have been) done, not today but months ago
    because these hills are being used by terrorists in order to
    snipe at the Jewish children. I think the State of Israel
    should protect its citizens and should prevent any terrorist
    and any other killer from standing on a hill and shooting
    children. That should be the end of it. But we are sorry that
    the Israeli army had penetrated this hill and went back. The
    Israeli army should stay on this hill and ensure the lives of
    the Jews in Hebron," he said.

    In Jerusalem, Dore Gold, senior advisor to the Prime
    Minister said:
    "I think its a very simple message that's been sent by the
    Israelis: Palestinian snipers cannot take aim and shoot
    11-year-old Israeli children in the chest and get away with
    it. The Israeli army has the capabilities and the
    determination to defend the people of Israel when necessary."
    The damage to this divided city, said to be the burial site
    of the biblical patriarch, Abraham, was apparent in the cold
    light of day.

    The Israeli army has said that it might permanently take
    over Abu Sneineh if gunmen continued to fire from the
    neighbourhood.


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