Israeli forces moved into the West Bank city of Nablus early Friday, just as world diplomats began talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat about reforming his regime.
Palestinian officials said Thursday that Arafat had signed a comprehensive law package sitting on his desk for five years, a framework for a constitution granting basic rights to his people and regulating his regime.
The Israeli troops entered Nablus in about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers, Palestinians said, heading for two Palestinian refugee camps, Balata and Askar. The forces surrounded the Balata camp, headquarters of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade group. Witnesses said troops ordered about 1,000 Balata residents out of their homes and detained 100 wanted men. They searched homes, smashing interior walls in at least six dwellings.
The suicide bomber who killed an 18-month-old baby and her grandmother in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva on Monday was a resident of Balata. The group also claimed the killing of three teenagers at a Jewish settlement on Wednesday. The attacker was identified as Habash Hanani, 16.
Israeli forces cut electricity to Nablus before launching the raid, residents said.
The echo of gunshots rang through the city as troops fanned into several outlying areas.
Residents said Palestinians set off two mines under Israeli tanks, and the tanks fired five shells, knocking out electricity in the eastern part of Nablus. Also, they said, a convoy of seven Israeli jeeps and an ambulance entered a neighborhood in the western part of the city, apparently planning to arrest a suspected activist.
Asked about Israel's thrust into the city, Arafat told reporters: "It's as if they are saying to the world that we do not want to reach any agreement."
A Palestinian man was killed Friday morning near the settlment of Shavei Shomron in the West Bank, after trying to infiltrate it. The Palestinian cut through the fence when a resident of the settlement saw him and opened fire, killing the infiltrator.
In Qalqilyah, Israeli soldiers carried out searches for wanted Palestinians. Two buildings and four vehicles were destroyed.
Late Thursday, Israeli forces pulled out of the West Bank town of Bethlehem after holding it in a tight grip for four days. In a statement confirming the pullout, the Israeli military said 42 Palestinians were detained.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer met Arafat Thursday, and Osama el-Baz, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's political adviser, was due for talks Friday. Over the weekend, CIA Director George Tenet is to begin a mission aimed at restructuring the myriad and competing Palestinian security services.
After meeting Fischer, Arafat said "we have already started" the reform process, noting that he had signed the Basic Law and others governing the judiciary and banking systems. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
