Israeli forces seize entire West Bank town

Israeli tanks, backed by helicopters, took control of the West Bank town of Tulkarem before dawn today, imposed a curfew and arrested dozens of suspected militants, the local governor said.

In 16 months of fighting, Israeli troops have repeatedly entered Palestinian cities, taking control of some districts for limited periods. Today’s raid was the largest and marked the first time that forces took over an entire town.

The governor of Tulkarem, Izzedine Sharif, said tanks entered the town from all directions shortly after 3am. (0100 GMT), as four helicopters flew above. Another Palestinian security official said about 100 tanks and armoured personnel carriers participated in the raid.

Sharif said soldiers imposed a curfew, then moved from house to house, looking for suspects.

Residents were ordered outside while troops searched their houses, Sharif said, adding that he could hear the sound of sporadic gunfire.

Troops also surrounded the two adjacent Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, apparently preparing to enter, the governor said.

The raid came in reprisal for an attack by a Palestinian militant on a banquet hall in Israel last week. The assailant killed six Israelis before being shot dead by Israeli police.

The gunman was a former Palestinian policeman and a member of the Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

In other reprisals for the banquet hall attack, Israeli tanks have surrounded Arafat’s headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, keeping the Palestinian leader confined there.

Israeli troops have also shelled the five-storey building of the Voice of Palestine Radio in Ramallah.