Israel demolishes homes of terrorist suspects
During Israel's incursion into the Gaza town of Beit Lahia, hundreds of children and teenagers threw stones at four Israeli tanks blocking the main road. Soldiers fired from a tank-mounted machine gun to drive back the crowd, killing a 17-year-old boy with a shot to the head and wounding four youngsters. The army said soldiers opened fire because they felt their lives were in danger.
In the West Bank, troops destroyed four homes two belonging to suicide bombers, one to a man who supplied explosives for an attack and a fourth to a suspected bombing mastermind. The demolitions brought to 18 the number of houses of demolished since Israel revived its controversial policy last month.
In Gaza, Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles rumbled deeper into Beit Lahia for a second night in a row, firing machine guns and at least one shell to knock out the electric transformer, Palestinian security officials and residents said.
Bulldozers also uprooted hundreds of trees and destroyed crops in the outlying areas, according to reporters at the scene. At one point, hundreds of children threw blocks and empty bottles at four tanks blocking the main road. One of the tanks opened fire, and five youngsters were wounded.
Capt Jacob Dallal, an Israeli army spokesman, said the stone-throwers had come very close to the tanks, and that soldiers opened fire because the felt they had to extricate themselves what they considered a dangerous situation.
Intissar Abu Radi, 45, lost her small cucumber farm in the incursion. "I don't know why they are coming here. They stole all our land and we still have this little piece of land on which to survive. They are saying that they don't want resistance. Do they expect our people will welcome the reoccupation with flowers?" she said.
At present, Israeli troops occupy seven of the eight major West Bank towns and cities. Since the fighting began in September 2000, Israeli soldiers have also taken up many positions in Palestinian-run areas of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer earlier this week proposed a gradual pullback, on condition that the Palestinians make an effort to rein in militants in territories being returned to them.
Israeli Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said the talks deadlocked over a Palestinian demand that the West Bank town of Ramallah, the temporary seat of the Palestinian government, be included in the first phase of a pullback.
Israel rejected the demand, arguing that troops could not leave Ramallah for now because it was a militant stronghold.
Sneh said Israel expected the Palestinian Authority to block the activities of militant groups in areas from which troops withdraw, but suggested there were no longer expectations Palestinian security forces immediately carry out mass arrests of those suspected of involvement in attacks on Israelis.
A senior Palestinian delegation, meanwhile, arrived in Washington for talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other officials. The delegation was headed by top adviser Saeb Erekat and included Economy Minister Maher el Masri and Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh.
Erekat rejected US calls for the replacement of Arafat and accused Israel of stifling Palestinian efforts to bolster security, hold elections and institute reforms.
