Israeli troops kill 7 in West Bank, re-enter Bethlehem

11.45am

BETHLEHEM - Israeli troops shot dead seven Palestinians in raids across the West Bank and swept back into Bethlehem to reimpose a curfew on Thursday, ending a brief Christmas respite from occupation.

The flurry of Israeli army operations drew vows of revenge from Palestinian militant groups, aggravating hostilities which the United States wants kept in check to help it cultivate Arab support for possible war against Iraq.

In Bethlehem, troops fired teargas at Palestinians shopping near the town centre, ordering them by loudspeakers to return home, and resumed patrols in front of the ancient Church of the Nativity, which Christians revere as Jesus' birthplace.

"The curfew was put back in place a short time ago for operational needs," an Israeli military source said.

The army reoccupied Bethlehem a month ago after a Palestinian suicide bomber from the town blew up a bus in nearby Jerusalem, killing 11 Israelis. But after an appeal from Pope John Paul, Israeli forces pulled back to the outskirts of Bethlehem on Tuesday to allow Christmas observances to proceed.

Despite that, Palestinian Christians called it one of their dreariest Christmas in Bethlehem. Two years of bloodshed has scared away pilgrims and tourists who once flocked to the West Bank biblical town for the holidays.

Several army patrols rumbled over Bethlehem's cobblestone streets on Thursday. Soldiers arrested at least one man, identified as a Palestinian intelligence officer, and there were sporadic clashes with stone-throwers.

The return to Bethlehem coincided with rapid-fire sweeps for militants in other West Bank cities and towns reoccupied by Israeli forces following a spate of suicide bombings in June, part of a Palestinian militant fight for statehood.

Israeli military sources called the raids "counter-terrorism operations".

"We condemn this Israeli escalation," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters. "(Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon is inviting retaliation and counter-violence."

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli undercover troops riddled a car with gunfire, killing Bassem al-Ashqar of the Islamic movement Hamas, the main group behind suicide bombings against Israelis in a Palestinian uprising for independence.

An Israeli military source said troops had tried to detain two wanted men in a car but one of them opened fire. "The force returned fire and killed him," the source said. The second fugitive was taken into custody, he added.

Palestinian witnesses denied anyone had shot at Israeli soldiers in the incident.

Witnesses said troops also shot dead a 19-year-old bystander and an army spokesman said another Palestinian was shot dead later in Ramallah while trying to escape arrest.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli soldiers killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a raid near the northern West Bank town of Jenin.

The Israeli army said troops and armour surrounded a house in the village of Qabatiya and killed Hamza Abu Roub, 35, in a gunbattle in which four soldiers were wounded.

It described Abu Roub as the local leader of Islamic Jihad, which has carried out suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis in 27 months of violence.

"Our military wing and fighters will avenge this crime," said Sheikh Abdallah al-Shami of Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

The army said troops killed two Palestinian gunmen in fighting in the centre of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Hospital officials said more than 20 people were wounded.

In the West Bank city of Tulkarm, an Israeli undercover unit killed Jamal Nader Mohammad Yahya, a member of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, in front of his house.

Palestinian sources said he belonged to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Fatah, but was involved only in political activities.

Israeli military sources said border police tried to arrest him and opened fire after he ignored warning shots.

At least 1746 Palestinians and 671 Israelis have been killed since Palestinians launched an uprising in September 2000 after negotiations on Palestinian statehood hit an impasse.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: The Middle East