VARIOUS: ISRAELI PM ARIEL SHARON TELLS KNESSET THAT ISRAEL IS IN A HARSH WAR AGAINST A CRUEL AND BLOODTHIRSTY ENEMY/ SHOOTING BETWEEN PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELI SOLDIERS CONTINUES IN JENIN

Record ID: 400619

  • Title: VARIOUS: ISRAELI PM ARIEL SHARON TELLS KNESSET THAT ISRAEL IS IN A HARSH WAR AGAINST A CRUEL AND BLOODTHIRSTY ENEMY/ SHOOTING BETWEEN PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELI SOLDIERS CONTINUES IN JENIN
  • Date: 4th March 2002
  • Summary: (W5) JERUSALEM (MARCH 4, 2002) (REUTERS -ACCESS ALL) 1. MV: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON WALKING TOWARDS PODIUM 0.06 2. WS: MEMBERS OF ISRAELI PARLIAMENT (KNESSET) LISTENING 0.10 3. SV: (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON, SAYING: "We are in a harsh war against a cruel and bloodthirsty enemy. We must not be broke
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RAMALLAH, JENIN, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM / RAFAH, GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVAB1PFAL3DI64WDBKHBT42N5GKX
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told the
    Knesset that Israel is "in a harsh war against a cruel and
    bloodthirsty enemy".

    Shooting between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers has
    continued in the West Bank city of Jenin the day Israeli
    forces directed tank shells at Ramallah, raided two refugee
    camps and blew up a car carrying a Palestinian militant's
    family.

    Israeli reprisals killed 17 Palestinians after a
    weekend of carnage in which 22 Israelis lost their lives.



    Israeli Prime Minister, speaking to parliamentarians
    on Monday (March 4), called on Israelis not to be broken by
    the violence and said peace would result from pain.

    "We are in a harsh war against a cruel and bloodthirsty
    enemy. We must not be broken, we must not despair, even when
    the pain is terrible -- and the pain is terrible," said
    Sharon.

    "I am sure that finally we will be victorious and peace
    will come to this house," added Sharon.

    The pre-dawn raids on refugee camps in the West Bank and
    Gaza on Monday followed Israel's pledge to "put the brakes on
    Palestinian terror" after a weekend of carnage in which 22
    Israelis were killed and international peace efforts were
    thrown deeper into doubt.

    Dozens of tanks moved into the Jenin camp -- a stronghold
    of militant groups -- sparking heavy street fighting with
    local gunmen in the second raid there in less than a week.

    Palestinian security sources said a 23-year-old gunman was
    killed in a battle with soldiers in the camp.

    Witnesses and hospital officials said a 17-year-old girl,
    a 53-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man were killed inside
    their homes by fire from Israeli helicopter gunships. Two
    other men were also reported killed by tankfire.

    The army also opened fire on a Palestinian ambulance near
    the scene of fighting in Jenin, killing a doctor and wounding
    three medics. The doctor was identified as Khalil Suleiman,
    the head of local emergency services.

    Officials said Israeli forces entered Jenin in a renewed
    search for suspects and weapons.

    UNWRA High Commissioner Peter Hansen watched the scene
    from a distance, accompanied by workers of the International
    Committee of the Red Cross, as fighting between Palestinians
    and Israeli soldiers continued.

    Clouds of smoke also rose over the West Bank city of
    Ramallah as people were seen running through the streets,
    looking for cover from Israeli shelling.

    An Israeli tank shell hit a car and killed the wife, two
    daughters and son of a Hamas activist. Another two
    Palestinians, a man and his son, were killed in the blast that
    engulfed two cars. The Hamas activist, Hussein Abu Kwaik, was
    not in the car.

    In a statement Israeli government spokesman Arie Mekel
    said, "Israeli soldiers spotted a car with armed men in it.

    They opened fire, but unfortunately a tragic mistake was made
    and Palestinian civilians were killed. We take full
    responsibility for this. We apologise and we send our
    condolences to the families".

    Thousands of palestinians marched with Hussein Abu Kwaik
    through the streets of Ramallah to protest the deaths of his
    family members.

    Hamas called it a "Zionist crime" and said Israel would
    "pay a heavy price for its aggression".

    Israeli tanks have kept Ramallah surrounded since late
    last year following a series of attacks on Israelis. Prime
    Minister Ariel Sharon has barred Palestinian President Yasser
    Arafat from leaving the city, near Jerusalem.

    Arafat met the European Union envoy to the Middle East,
    Miguel Moratinos on Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis.

    The Palestinian Authority has appealed to Israeli Prime
    Minister Ariel Sharon to accept the the Saudi initiative.

    Palestinian Minister of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo
    told a news conference in Ramallah on Monday that Israeli
    acceptance of the Saudi initiative "will reflect itself
    positively on the security atmosphere".

    "We will continue to resist against this foreign
    occupation," he added.

    Israeli troops and armour also thrust into the Rafah
    refugee camp in the Gaza Strip early on Monday and opened fire
    with machineguns, demolishing three houses and a police post
    and clashing with gunmen before pulling out five hours later,
    Palestinian witnesses said.

    Soldiers shot dead three Palestinians during the raid.

    Palestinian medics and witnesses said two were civilians, one
    shot as he tried to whisk his child away from the battle
    scene.

    An Israeli military source said it was a "limited
    operation" seeking tunnels used to smuggle arms from nearby
    Egypt into Rafah, often a flashpoint in more than 17 months of
    bloodshed.

    Troops also shot dead a Palestinian at a checkpoint near
    Qalqilya in the West Bank on Monday morning.

    The latest tit-for-tat violence has cast doubt over the
    new Saudi peace initiative that would offer Israel normal
    relations with the Arab world in return for a full withdrawal
    from lands it occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.


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