An intensive manhunt in the south of Israel ended early Tuesday evening when Israeli forces captured an Egyptian citizen who had infiltrated Israel. He was hiding in a cave when he was caught. Security forces discovered a bag containing weapons during the massive search taking place in the Be'er Ora area, about 20 kilometers from the port city of Eilat.
A large number of Israeli troops, police and helicopters participated in the search efforts.
A state of heightened alert was declared in the area, in particular in the resort town of Eilat, and the Arava road, from the Beit Ora area extending to the south, was closed to traffic.
Earlier in the day, two Palestinian gunmen, including a local leader suspected by Israel of sending two suicide bombers, were killed in what witnesses said was an Israeli helicopter attack.
The bodies were found in a village near the West Bank town of Jenin. One of the men was identified as Ali Ajouri, 23, a local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus. The body of the second man was badly burned, making immediate identification impossible, AP reported.
Witnesses and Fatah officials said that early Tuesday, jeeps stormed into the village of Jabaa near Jenin, and that Israeli troops began firing machine guns.
Ajouri was suspected by the Israeli intelligence of having sent two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Tel Aviv on July 17, killing two Israelis and three foreign workers.
Israeli troops recently demolished the home of the Ajouri family in the Askar refugee camp and ordered the deportation of his brother and sister to the Gaza Strip.
Security talks
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met late Monday night with the Palestinian interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh and Yasser Arafat's senior security advisor, Mohammed Dahlan to discuss plans for a cease-fire that would allow for Israeli troops to leave Palestinian areas.
A statement from Ben-Eliezer's office said the minister presented the Palestinian representatives with his "Gaza First" proposal, which calls for Palestinians to take over security in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank Israel has occupied in exchange for Israel easing restrictions on Palestinians. That proposal would also allow for Israeli troops to withdraw once Palestinians assume full control, Palestinians have said.
According to the plan, the Israeli forces will withdraw from “quiet” areas in which the PA infrastructure has not been so severely damaged - such as Gaza and Jericho, and possibly Bethlehem and Hebron - if the Palestinians assume responsibility for security in these areas.
The plan, which has been approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, requires Israel to transfer the security burden in those areas to the Palestinian Authority. The plan is aimed at serving as a "pilot project" and if the Palestinians manage to prevent attacks in these cities that the Israeli army vacates, it will be extended to include other PA-controled areas, Israeli sources said.
U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution on Monday expressing grave concern over Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian cities and the "dire humanitarian situation" facing Palestinians.
The resolution, adopted by 114 votes to four with 11 abstentions, also called for "the immediate cessation of military incursions and all acts of violence, terror, provocation, incitement and destruction." The United States, Israel, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia were the only countries to vote against the resolution, which "strongly deplores the lack of Israeli cooperation" in implementing previous UN resolutions on the matter.”
The resolution was drafted jointly by European Union and Palestinian envoys.
It takes a far softer line on Israel than an earlier Palestinian draft that was harshly critical of the Jewish state. Diplomats said the revisions reflected the Palestinians' desire to obtain broad support for the measure among the General Assembly's 189 member nations. For his part, Israeli envoy, Aaron Jacob harshly criticized the outcome, saying his country could expect nothing more from the General Assembly than "outrageously partisan resolutions."
The resolution came at the end of a day in which the General Assembly debated the UN report about the Israeli incursion into the West Bank refugee camp at Jenin. A draft resolution to condemn the Jewish state for the "atrocities" against citizens committed by Israeli troops in Jenin and other Palestinian cities was deemed "hypocrisy" by the United States, which asked how it was possible not to condemn "Palestinian terrorism" in the wake of a new wave of anti-Israeli violence.
In the end, the resolution adopted "takes note of the Secretary General's report" on the Jenin refugee camp, but does not otherwise refer specifically to events there, AFP reported. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
