Israel retakes Bethlehem

Israeli troops reoccupied Bethlehem early Friday, searching homes and deploying tanks outside the Church of the Nativity in retaliation for the Jerusalem bus bomb that killed 11, including four youngsters.

With troops back in Bethlehem, Israel was again in control of all Palestinian population centres in the West Bank except for the quiet oasis of Jericho - mirroring the massive deployment that capped military offensives in April and June.

However, Israel’s range of responses is limited. It is under pressure from the United States to keep a lid on Mideast violence while Washington concentrates on its campaign against Iraq.

In responding to yesterday’s suicide attack, the Israeli military was expected to stick to tried methods, such as hunting down militants and demolishing homes of terror suspects.

Expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, an option previously raised by hard-liners in the Israeli Cabinet, was not discussed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Israeli police said the bus bombing was carried out jointly by the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Both groups claimed responsibility, but neither called it a joint attack.

The bomber, 22-year-old Nael Abu Hilail from Bethlehem, blew up 11 pounds of explosives strapped to his waist on a bus that was taking many children to school.

In response, Israeli armoured vehicles rolled into Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem early today.

Three tanks and armoured personnel carriers were deployed outside the Church of the Nativity, Christianity’s holiest shrine, to prevent a repeat of what happened in the April offensive, when gunmen sought shelter there, leading to a month long stand-off with Israeli soldiers.

Troops blew up the Bethlehem house rented by Abu Hilail’s family – an Israeli measure meant to discourage suicide attacks and punish bombers’ families. Fatima Abu Hilail, the bomber’s mother, said the army arrested her husband when they came to destroy the house.

“It is an inhuman, criminal act. I was left without a house for my children,” Abu Hulail said as she sat beside the rubble of her home with a group of women.

Army officials said the Israeli presence in Bethlehem was open-ended, but that troops hoped to be out by Christmas.

”The idea is to have a completely safe atmosphere by Christmas so that tourists can come without fear of a terrorist attack,” said an army spokesman, Doron Spielman.

However, in the past 26 months of fighting, Israeli soldiers have repeatedly kept foreign visitors out of Bethlehem, Jesus’ traditional birthplace, citing security reasons. Palestinian merchants have complained that the closure is destroying the town’s economy, which heavily depends on tourism.

Bethlehem’s mayor, Hanna Nasser, said the Israeli incursion would not help end “the vicious cycle of violence but will increase the suffering of the people and harm the economic standards for both Palestinians and Israelis.”

Troops imposed a curfew on Bethlehem, nearby towns and the Dheisheh refugee camp.

In Israel, meanwhile, polls indicated that Sharon had maintained his lead over Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in next week’s race for Likud Party leadership. The winner will lead Likud into January’s general elections.

One survey gave Sharon an 18% lead.