IDF bombs Gaza; 3 troops hurt, 4 Palestinians killed in W. Bank
Thursday, June 20, 2002

By Amira Hass, Amos Harel and Gideon Alon, Ha'aretz Correspondents and Ha'aretz Service


IDF helicopters fired five missiles at targets in Gaza City and the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis on Wednesday after six people were killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem, witnesses said.

In the West Bank, three IDF soldiers were wounded and four Palestinians were killed in a fierce gunbattle in Qalqilyah.

The helicopters hit a metal works foundry in Khan Younis, witnesses said. Six people were reported injured in the attacks.

Witnesses said that the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza City also came under helicopter fire. There were no immediate reports of whether anyone was hurt.

The IDF said that five rockets had been fired.

The air strikes come after two suicide bombings in Jerusalem in as many days - 19 people were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device on a bus in the southern part of the capital. More than 100 people were wounded in the two attacks.

3 soldiers hurt, 4 Palestinians killed in Qalqilyah Three IDF soldiers were wounded and four Palestinians were killed in heavy fighting Wednesday evening in the West Bank town of Qalqilyah. Two of the soldiers were moderately injured, while one was lightly hurt.

The fighting in Qalqilyah took place as troops surrounded the home of a PA intelligence officer in the town. The officer was killed during the gunbattle.

The army now has control of the town and is carrying out searches for wanted militants. The IDF also has control of the Jenin refugee camp for the first time since Operation Defensive Shield in April and May. Twenty-three IDF soldiers were killed during the military operation in the camp.

IDF forces entered the town late Tuesday night, as well as Nablus, Hebron and the village of Dura to carry out a search for militants.

In Jenin overnight, Palestinian gunmen fired at IDF tanks from inside the city's refugee quarter, but the soldiers refrained from returning fire, witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear if the troops would remain in the towns as part of a new policy announced by Israel that it would retake Palestinian territory in response to terror attacks, or would withdraw as it has in recent raids.

Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Wednesday that while he opposes retaking Area A, the IDF would remain in some PA-controlled areas for "a week, two weeks or three."

Mofaz: Defensive Shield failed to change PA's terror strategy IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday that Operation Defensive Shield failed to change the Palestinians' strategy of terror.

The operation "did not change the terror strategy of the Palestinians and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat continues to direct and fund terror attacks," Mofaz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

According to Mofaz, despite the continuation of terror attacks, "Defensive Shield" did have meaningful strategic and tacitical achievemenets, but warned that they could be eroded "if we do not maintain them."

The IDF chief also said that the IDF has no intention of remaining in Area A.

Mofaz briefed committee members on ongoing military operations to prevent terror attacks and the capture of several suicide bombers who were equipped with explosive belts and ready to carry out attacks.

Mofaz added that the Palestinians continue intensive efforts to smuggle weapons to PA-controlled territory. According to the IDF chief, during "Defensive Shield" troops captured weapons that were smuggled to the Palestinians via senior Palestinian officials who have VIA passes, most of whom use Arafat's helicpter.

A senior IDF operations officer told the committee that last month security forces arrested 628 Palestinians suspected of terror activity, including 250 wanted militants whose interrogations helped foil terror attacks.

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