Two killed in West Bank raid

ISRAELI soldiers killed two Palestinians in a major West Bank raid yesterday after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rebuffed a post-election olive branch extended by Yasser Arafat.

Launching the first major incursion in the West Bank since Mr Sharon’s tough security stance earned his Likud party a resounding win in Tuesday’s election, an Israeli armoured force swept into the Palestinian-controlled sector of Hebron.

Witnesses said soldiers had entered private homes, stormed Palestinian Authority offices and blocked major roads in the city, where violence has frequently raged in a 28-month-old Palestinian uprising.