Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians, including a civil servant and a female civilian, in separate incidents Wednesday in the West Bank, hospital sources said.
Abed al-Karim, 38, a Palestinian civil servant, was killed by an Israeli tank shell as he drove his car in the town of Anabta, near Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank. Israeli soldiers also shot dead Mutassem Raltal, 26, in the northern Palestinian city of Nablus, medical sources said.
It was not immediately clear whether the second man was a Palestinian fighter taking part in the resistance to Israel's 13-day-old offensive in the West Bank.
A Palestinian woman was shot dead in her home when Israeli troops opened fire in the Emsbakh area of Ramallah, hospital officials said. Manal Sami Ibrahim, 28, was shot in the chest in her home in the occupied city, the medics said. There were no exchanges of fire as the Israeli troops shot at the building, they told AFP.
Meanwhile, Hamas sources identified the bomber that carried out the Haifa bombing attack Wednsday morning, as Ayman Abu Haija, 22, from the Jenin refugee camp. It was not clear when Abu Haija left the camp, which has been under Israeli siege for a week.
The White House said that this suicide bombing that killed eight Israeli soldiers and policemen "reinforces" the need for Israel to withdraw forces from Palestinian lands and for Palestinians to halt anti-Israeli violence.
The attack "reinforces for the president the need for all parties to step back: for Israel to withdraw and for the Palestinans and the Arabs to stop the violence, to stop the killing," said spokesman Ari Fleischer.
US President George W. Bush "believes that enough is enough, and that both parties have to step up to their responsibilities" to seek peace, Fleischer said after the bombing.
The bombing came as Israeli forces declared “victory” in the battle for the Palestinian refugee camp at Jenin on the northern West Bank, the scene of days of the heaviest fighting so far in their 13-day-old campaign.
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer forecast a series of bombings ahead of U.S. secretary of State, Colin Powell's visit later this week and said the army would bring its blitz to its conclusion despite calls from Bush and other world leaders for a halt.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday that the United States should not pressure Israel to end its incursion into Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank, which he pledged to complete “as fast as possible.”
"You can talk all about peace, but you cannot reach peace as long as terror exists. I hope our great friend the United States understands that this is a war of survival for us... it's our right to defend our citizens and there should be no pressure put on us not to do that," Sharon told reporters.
"Our wonderful soldiers have to be able to continue this struggle. Once we do that, once we accomplish that, we have no intention, we will not stay in any [Palestinian] zones," he said. "We have to do this as fast as possible, but we have to finish the job." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
