The IDF again re-occupied and imposed a curfew on the city of Tul Karem last night, and expects to remain there for an unspecified number of days. Tanks and ground forces began the offensive at 3 AM this morning. They faced barely any resistance at first, but clashed with local residents increased as the hours wore on; two Arabs were killed in the battles. The Israeli forces arrested many terrorist suspects, including several Hamas leaders, in accordance with a prepared list, and destroyed terrorist infrastructures in the city. Arutz-7\'s Kobi Finkler, reporting from Nitzanei Oz, some 300 meters from the western fence of Tul Karem, said that he saw about 20 blindfolded suspects escorted out of the city by police to waiting vans, \"ostensibly for GSS questioning.\"
An IDF announcement noted that many fatal attacks, including this past Thursday\'s Bat-Mitzvah slaughter in which six Israelis were murdered, have been initiated and planned in Tul Karem. PA officials fear that other cities such as Jenin and Kalkilye may also soon be \"re-conquered.\" In Ramallah, tanks continue to surround Yasser Arafat\'s office, preventing his free movement, and most other PA-controlled cities are also tightly encircled. Fire was exchanged in the Ramallah area for two hours this afternoon, and Arab sources report one dead. The PA has submitted a complaint to the United Nations regarding the IDF actions in Tul Karem.
The IDF originally withdrew from Tul Karem just over six years ago, in December 1995. Tzvi Poleg (Labor), then mayor of nearby Netanya, told Arutz-7 at the time, \"I don\'t think that this [Oslo] agreement represents a danger to any Israeli, and certainly not to Netanya… We would like to give co-existence [with the neighboring Arabs] a chance. If it doesn\'t work, though, and it proves to be a threat to our security, then we\'ll have to go back in there and take over Tul Karem again.\" During the Oslo War, a suicide bomber killed three Israelis on a Netanya street on March 4; two months later, another suicide terrorist blew himself outside a city mall, killing five.
PA-incitement watch: Jibril Rajoub, head of PA Preventive Security in Judea and Samaria, told Voice of Palestine Radio this morning, \"The IDF actions in Tul Karem are worse than the Nazi crimes during World War II.\"
An IDF announcement noted that many fatal attacks, including this past Thursday\'s Bat-Mitzvah slaughter in which six Israelis were murdered, have been initiated and planned in Tul Karem. PA officials fear that other cities such as Jenin and Kalkilye may also soon be \"re-conquered.\" In Ramallah, tanks continue to surround Yasser Arafat\'s office, preventing his free movement, and most other PA-controlled cities are also tightly encircled. Fire was exchanged in the Ramallah area for two hours this afternoon, and Arab sources report one dead. The PA has submitted a complaint to the United Nations regarding the IDF actions in Tul Karem.
The IDF originally withdrew from Tul Karem just over six years ago, in December 1995. Tzvi Poleg (Labor), then mayor of nearby Netanya, told Arutz-7 at the time, \"I don\'t think that this [Oslo] agreement represents a danger to any Israeli, and certainly not to Netanya… We would like to give co-existence [with the neighboring Arabs] a chance. If it doesn\'t work, though, and it proves to be a threat to our security, then we\'ll have to go back in there and take over Tul Karem again.\" During the Oslo War, a suicide bomber killed three Israelis on a Netanya street on March 4; two months later, another suicide terrorist blew himself outside a city mall, killing five.
PA-incitement watch: Jibril Rajoub, head of PA Preventive Security in Judea and Samaria, told Voice of Palestine Radio this morning, \"The IDF actions in Tul Karem are worse than the Nazi crimes during World War II.\"