 | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | Israel/Palestine War: Israel Presses Hebron Siege, G8 Quiet on Arafat">Archive of stories pre April 2007 | | | | | | | 
Archive of stories pre April 2007 | News submitted by: MIB
By Mazen Dana -
HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - The Israeli army smashed through an outer wall of the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Hebron on Friday to try to flush out suspected militants, local witnesses and military sources said.
A former Palestinian minister entered the building with the army's backing to urge 15 armed Palestinians besieged inside for four days to surrender but there was no immediate result, Israeli military sources said.
They said there would be no negotiations with the gunmen but there were no plans now for soldiers to storm the building.
Israel sought to wind up its siege in Hebron, the seventh West Bank city reoccupied and put under curfew by the army after a series of suicide bombings, after major powers said President Yasser Arafat must make reforms to achieve a Palestinian state.
In a communique issued after a summit in Canada, the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations said Palestinians must adopt democracy. They did not echo President Bush's call this week for Arafat to be replaced as Palestinian leader.
But Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said that, while some leaders disagreed with elements of the plan, "collectively we were all happy that he has taken this initiative."
Tank shells punctured the perimeter wall of the sprawling Hebron complex and an armored bulldozer moved in to widen the holes, witnesses said, after an army ultimatum to the estimated 15 Palestinian gunmen besieged inside apparently went unheeded.
An Israeli military spokesman said troops had been exchanging fire with wanted gunmen inside the Hebron complex. The number of soldiers ringing the building had been increased.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio that almost 20 of the Palestinians had emerged to surrender since the siege began on Tuesday and had shown the army where "explosives factories" were located.
"We have patience, and I hope they will all come out," Ben-Eliezer said.
WIDESPREAD CURFEW
Almost 600,000 Palestinians were confined to their homes under curfew in West Bank cities and many more were confined to surrounding villages by army operations.
A photograph of a Palestinian toddler dressed up like a suicide bomber, complete with explosives belt, was published in Israeli newspapers on Friday. The army said the photograph was found in a family album in a Hebron house searched by troops.
A relative of the little boy confirmed the photo was genuine but said it was a party joke and there was no intention to turn him into a suicide bomber. The army search yielded no suspects.
Another nine wanted Palestinian militants were detained overnight in the West Bank, the army spokesman said.
A member of Arafat's Fatah movement was arrested when Israeli troops entered his house in the village of Hussan near Bethlehem, local witnesses said.
Others said Israeli troops fired tear gas, rubber bullets and some live rounds at Palestinian stone-throwers in the village of Hussan near Bethlehem. They said some tear gas entered a mosque and there were injuries, but had no details.
At least 1,427 Palestinians and 548 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip erupted in September 2000 after talks on a Palestinian state stalled.
Palestinians had won limited self-rule in West Bank and Gaza towns under interim peace deals during the mid-1990s.
G8 SUPPORTS VISION OF TWO STATES
In its concluding statement, the G8 said it reaffirmed a "commitment to work for peace in the Middle East, based on our vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders.
"We agreed on the urgency of reform of Palestinian institutions and its economy, and of free and fair elections."
Bush said on Monday Arafat must be replaced by a leader "uncompromised by terror." He rammed home the point on Wednesday by saying U.S. financial aid to the Palestinians would hinge on their embrace of reforms and rejection of "terrorism."
While echoing U.S. demands for democratic reforms, some world leaders hesitated to endorse the demands of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Bush for the replacement of Arafat, elected president in 1996.
The Palestinians themselves responded on Wednesday by confirming plans to hold elections in January, which opinion polls indicate Arafat is likely to win.
There was no mention of a new Palestinian leadership in the G8 communique issued by France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Britain, Russia and the United States.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Friday the reticence in the G8 over Arafat's fate showed most powers respected Palestinians' right to pick their own leaders.
He said this indicated such leaders were "in total opposition to president Bush's attempt to interfere in the internal Palestinian politics."
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1145791
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