Israeli forces kept up Friday their siege of the Palestinian Authority compound in Hebron. Israeli troops exchanged fire with Palestinians trapped inside the building.
An Israeli military spokesman said troops were periodically trading fire with wanted activists sheltering inside. Army radio said a call had gone out to the estimated 15 Palestinians to surrender without conditions.
On Thursday, Apache helicopters fired several rockets at the compound. "The IDF (Israeli army) attacked several structures in the Imara (moqataa) compound with battle helicopters this evening," the army said in a statement.
"Wanted people have barricaded themselves inside... (and) the compound is being used as a source of refuge for terror," it claimed.
"Unlike the previous cases - the siege of the muqata in Ramallah and of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem - the situation this time is much less complicated," an Israelimilitary source was quoted as saying. "In Hebron, there are no civilians among those holed up inside and there is no international interest in what is happening. We have all the time we need. In the end, we will succeed in arresting the wanted men."
Palestinian sources said officials from both sides were trying to negotiate a surrender of the Palestinians inside but an Israeli army spokesman dismissed this report.
Israeli public radio said the army arrested a member of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hizbullah in the moqataa. He surrendered to troops along with around 20 Palestinian militants, it said.
Israel’s Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told army radio that almost 20 of the Palestinians had emerged to surrender since the siege started on Wednesday and had shown the army where "explosives factories" were located. "We have patience, and I hope they will all come out," Ben-Eliezer said.
The army spokesman said almost the entire West Bank was under curfew -- more than half a million Palestinians were affected -- aside from Jericho. Another nine “wanted Palestinians” were detained overnight in the West Bank, he added. A member of Fatah movement was arrested when Israeli troops entered his house in the village of Hussan near Bethlehem, local witnesses said. A Palestinian was arrested near the village of Dura, while another one was arrested north of Tulkarem.
Israel admitted for the second time in less than a week its forces "acted improperly" in firing on Palestinians violating a curfew. Three children in the West Bank town of Qalqiliya were wounded, including a 9-year-old in critical condition with brain damage.
Palestinian witnesses and security officials said tanks fired Thursday after a curfew break arranged with Israeli authorities to allow high school students to take final exams. Apparently after seeing the students on the streets, others headed out to the market, Palestinians said.
Soldiers opened fire on the children, the military said. Civil administration spokesman Maj. Peter Lerner confirmed the intention was to lift the curfew for students.
On Friday, the Palestinian leadership issued a statement condemning the Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas as "an attempt to sabotage peace efforts."
The statement, quoted by the Palestinian Wafa news agency, appealed to the world leaders attending the G-8 summit in Canada to "send observers to the region to ensure implementation of a cease-fire." "We call on the G8 to immediately finish the Israeli occupation and aggression and to stop the siege," the statement read. (Albawaba.com)
