The number of Arab attacks against Israelis is down. IDF officials say that the decrease in attacks is a direct result of ongoing military offensives into areas under PLO control. Israeli forces have intensified their strikes at terrorist targets in Arab towns following the Wednesday night massacre of ten Israeli citizens on a public bus and the subsequent cabinet decision that \"Arafat is no longer relevant.\"
Most notable over the weekend was the IDF incursion into the Arab town Beit Hanoun, located along the southern Mediterranean coast. Beginning Friday night, Israeli forces entered the town and unfurled the Israeli flag which remained flying until the completion of the operation Saturday night. PLO military structures were destroyed, as was the unoccupied home of a senior Hamas terrorist commander. There were no injuries to Israeli forces, but Arab sources report that one Arab policeman and three youths were killed. IDF commanders stress that only persons that were armed were fired upon, and if youths were hit by gunfire, it is because they were armed. Fifteen suspected terrorists were arrested. The town of Beit Hanoun is considered a stronghold of the Hamas terrorist organization.
As the IDF operation into Beit Hanoun was ending Saturday night, army forces accompanied by tanks and bulldozers raided the Shomron Arab village of Tamoun, an hour east of Netanya. Military sources explained that the objective of the incursion was to cut off the routes between PLO-controlled Shechem and the Jordan Valley to the east. Those roads serve as alternative routes to the Jenin area, from which numerous terrorist attacks have been launched. Until last night, terrorists could travel freely between these destinations and circumvent areas under Israeli control.
Following an Arab shelling attack against an IDF position in the coastal region north of the Egyptian border, an Israel Air Force helicopter fired two missiles at military headquarters in PLO-controlled Jabalya. The building was damaged. There were no injuries in the exchange of fire.
Most notable over the weekend was the IDF incursion into the Arab town Beit Hanoun, located along the southern Mediterranean coast. Beginning Friday night, Israeli forces entered the town and unfurled the Israeli flag which remained flying until the completion of the operation Saturday night. PLO military structures were destroyed, as was the unoccupied home of a senior Hamas terrorist commander. There were no injuries to Israeli forces, but Arab sources report that one Arab policeman and three youths were killed. IDF commanders stress that only persons that were armed were fired upon, and if youths were hit by gunfire, it is because they were armed. Fifteen suspected terrorists were arrested. The town of Beit Hanoun is considered a stronghold of the Hamas terrorist organization.
As the IDF operation into Beit Hanoun was ending Saturday night, army forces accompanied by tanks and bulldozers raided the Shomron Arab village of Tamoun, an hour east of Netanya. Military sources explained that the objective of the incursion was to cut off the routes between PLO-controlled Shechem and the Jordan Valley to the east. Those roads serve as alternative routes to the Jenin area, from which numerous terrorist attacks have been launched. Until last night, terrorists could travel freely between these destinations and circumvent areas under Israeli control.
Following an Arab shelling attack against an IDF position in the coastal region north of the Egyptian border, an Israel Air Force helicopter fired two missiles at military headquarters in PLO-controlled Jabalya. The building was damaged. There were no injuries in the exchange of fire.