Israel\'s Operation Defensive Shield drew to a close this morning as the IDF withdrew from Shechem and most of Ramallah. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today that the \"present stage of Operation Defensive Shield has ended,\" but that the war against terrorism \"would continue, using different methods.\"
Israeli tanks are now deployed around the above PA cities, as well as Jenin, Tul Karem, Bethlehem, and Kalkilye, and are blocking all entrances. Israeli forces continue to remain in the area of Arafat\'s Mukata compound, confining the PLO leader to his offices until he hands over Fuad Shubaki, who masterminded the Karin-A arms smuggling operation, and the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
In Bethlehem, Israeli troops and tanks continue to surround the Church of the Nativity, where some 200 Arab terrorists have taken dozens of Christian clergymen as hostages and refuse to give themselves up. Several Arab Knesset Members led an unruly demonstration of about 200 people this afternoon outside the Church, demanding to be able to pray there; the army kept them out, but permitted the entry of the three truckloads of food and supplies they brought.
Israeli tanks are now deployed around the above PA cities, as well as Jenin, Tul Karem, Bethlehem, and Kalkilye, and are blocking all entrances. Israeli forces continue to remain in the area of Arafat\'s Mukata compound, confining the PLO leader to his offices until he hands over Fuad Shubaki, who masterminded the Karin-A arms smuggling operation, and the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
In Bethlehem, Israeli troops and tanks continue to surround the Church of the Nativity, where some 200 Arab terrorists have taken dozens of Christian clergymen as hostages and refuse to give themselves up. Several Arab Knesset Members led an unruly demonstration of about 200 people this afternoon outside the Church, demanding to be able to pray there; the army kept them out, but permitted the entry of the three truckloads of food and supplies they brought.