The Israeli military invaded the Palestinian West Bank city of Tulkarem early Monday morning, 21 January 2002, with up to 100 tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), and four US-made Apache attack helicopters hovering overhead. Israeli military forces have completely taken over smaller towns, such as Beit Jala in October, but this is the largest city to be completely taken over. Civilian houses were occupied and turned into military posts, as per Israeli military custom, including the mayor of the city. Cash and jewelry was reported stolen by Palestinian homeowners, as was the case in Beit Jala. The entire city of 50,000 people was placed under strict curfew, meaning no one was allowed to leave their home. Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers conducted house to house searches for individuals on their wanted list.

Israeli sources said the invasion was carried out to arrest wanted persons and forewarning of the raid was given to the Palestinian Authority. One Palestinian was killed and 26 people were arrested. Dozens of injuries were also reported in sporadic firefights between Palestinian activists defending the town and Israeli tanks. Many of the injured were unarmed civilians.

State run Israel Radio quoted a senior Army commander saying of the Tulkarem operation: "It is not beyond the realm of possibility that this is, among other things, an attempt to placate Israeli public opinion."

The takeover of an entire Palestinian city this size is a new, though expected, development. Israel’s Prime Minister Sharon has a consistent record of opposition to Israel’s peace agreements with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians, including the Oslo Peace Process. According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, at the announcement of his victory in the Prime Ministerial elections last February, supporters at his headquarters in Tel Aviv jumped up and down, shouting, "Hooray, the end of Oslo!" Since Palestinian cities such as Tulkarem fall under the control of the Palestinian Authority as per the Oslo accords, invasions such as this could have been predicted.

After spending 30 hours in Tulkarem, Israeli forces withdrew from parts of the city, though it is still sealed off and tanks and APCs surround the entire city, causing some Palestinians to render the withdraw "for appearance only."

The following morning, Israeli tanks, troops, and APCs entered the Palestinian city of Nablus. Israeli military sources claim they found the largest bomb-making factory in the West Bank: 12 bombs were almost completely assembled.

Several Israeli Special Operations Units teamed up to carry out the raid on the factory and killed four Hamas activists: Yourself Soragji, 41, Jasser Samaro and Nassim Abu Ros, both 27, and Karim Masarja, 23. At least one of the bodies was cut into pieces, according to Al-Jazeera reporter Walid Al-Omri, and the factory, located inside an apartment building, was blown up by the Israeli commandos, which caused a fire in the complex.

After the explosion the circumstances of other residents of the apartment building were unknown, though several of them were arrested and taken to Israeli prisons. Their involvement with the four men killed was unclear. In all, 9 Palestinians were arrested in the city.

In Ramallah, Israeli military entered nearly a week ago and have taken over half the city. Tanks, APCs and troops are stationed in various areas of the city, including next to Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat’s headquarters, effectively imprisoning him and thousands of civilians.

Unarmed civilian attempts to resist further Israeli incursions into the city have demonstrated the bravery of the people in Ramallah. Last Friday, the 18^th, several hundred Palestinians marched to Israeli tanks near the old city and sat down in their path, preventing further entry. Israeli soldiers first threw tear gas and sound bombs but soon thereafter turned to firing rubber coated steel bullets and high velocity bullets at the protesters, resulting in 45 injuries. Witnesses say Israeli soldiers also regularly shoot at Palestinian children playing in the streets near Israeli-held positions next to Arafat’s headquarters and Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, says 9 Palestinians have been wounded by 50-caliber machine gun fire.

Responding to reports and accusations that Israel will expel Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat from the West Bank and Gaza, an Israeli newspaper quoted Sharon’s satisfaction with the invasion in Ramallah: "It is preferable that Arafat stays locked in Ramallah instead of being expelled from the territories . . . .He opens the window of his Ramallah offices, he sees our tanks, and knows he has no where to go. He is dying to travel and fly off. It’s making him sick since he knows he is locked up in our jail."

Finally, a US governmental delegation arrived in Israel last Thursday. Among them was Congressman Richard Gephardt, who ironically said the delegation refused to see Arafat, imprisoned in an Israeli jail according to Sharon, because he has not done enough to end violence.

According to Palestinian sources, 4 Palestinians were killed and 50 injured on Monday in Israeli military operations in 5 separate cities. No Israelis were reported killed or injured in this same time.