RAMALLAH, West Bank, 20 January — Israeli troops blew up the Voice of Palestine radio station office here yesterday, but failed to stop it from broadcasting. Palestinian officials called for international sanctions against Israel
Part of the five-story Voice of Palestine building in the West Bank city of Ramallah collapsed after Israeli troops, accompanied by tanks and bulldozers, cleared people from the area before dawn and detonated explosives.
The blast sent flames, smoke and a shower of debris skyward, and Palestinian officials said the force shattered windows in nearby houses. They accused Israel of trying to undermine the Palestinian Authority and its institutions. The army said in a statement it had carried out the operation in retaliation for the "murderous attack" in the northern Israeli city of Hadera two days earlier.
Israel has accused the Voice of Palestine, which broadcasts the official positions of the Palestinian Authority, of transmitting provocative material during the Palestinian uprising which erupted in September 2000. Palestinians deny the charge and say Israel is trying to silence its media.
Voice of Palestine Director Bassem Abusumaya said the station had resumed broadcasting news, songs and talk shows on FM frequencies used by private radio stations. Palestinian television continued broadcasting out of Gaza.
The Palestinian leadership said in a statement the "cheap crime" perpetrated by Israel was meant "to silence the Palestinian voice so the world won’t know about the brutal crime the Israeli occupation has carried out against our people". It called on the United Nations and rights groups to condemn Israel’s action.
"The Palestinian Authority asks that the international community impose sanctions against Israel so that it stops its aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said.
