RAMALLAH, West Bank, 28 July — Israeli tanks bombarded Palestinian security posts in the West Bank yesterday in retaliation for the fatal shooting hours earlier of an Israeli teenager.
No injuries were reported after the reprisal strike during which Israeli Army tanks thrust into Palestinian-run areas and destroyed three posts on the line between Israeli and Palestinian positions around the city of Ramallah.
Earlier, the army imposed a curfew on two Palestinian villages near the West Bank city of Nablus after clashes erupted between soldiers and Palestinians on a road leading to a Jewish settlement. The curfew prevented the villagers from leaving their homes and closed access roads to all traffic moving in or out.
As violence raged, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met in the Gaza Strip with European Union envoy Miguel Moratinos to discuss ways to move toward eventual peace talks. Neither man made any comment after their meeting.
An Israeli Army spokeswoman said after the tank attack: “In reaction to yesterday’s attack in which a 17-year-old youth was killed, the army removed three Force 17 outposts...two north of Ramallah and another in Beitunia, west of Ramallah.” Witnesses in Ramallah said the boom of tanks shells echoed through the city until the early hours of the morning. Helicopters hovered overhead throughout the assault.
Force 17 is one of several Palestinian security formations controlled by Arafat. Young recruits in the group guard entrances of Palestinian-ruled cities to prevent Israeli incursions.
“We have instructions from our leadership never to open fire at Israeli targets in occupied areas. We are entrusted with defending our land,” a Force 17 commander, Abu Sufian, told Reuters.
At least 15 tank shells were used in the attacks, witnesses said. Israeli tank tracks were clearly visible inside Palestinian-controlled areas. Three houses, one shop and a hotel were damaged by shrapnel and heavy machine-gun fire.
Late yesterday, two Palestinian boys were injured by Israeli Army shooting in the Gaza Strip near the Karni crossing point, hospital sources said. “The soldiers first fired in the air and then on us,” one of the teenagers told AFP. He said no clashes had provoked the shooting. The other suffered serious head injuries.
In other violence early in the day, an army spokeswoman said two mortar bombs were fired at the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt.
One of Israel’s chief rabbis yesterday gave his approval to Israel’s policy of killing Palestinian activists. In a statement, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau cited Jewish religious law to support the murder of Palestinian activists. “Jewish religious law gives its...full support to the policy of active killings which the government and security forces maintains today,” the statement said.
