The sealing off of Ramallah and other Arab towns in Judea and Samaria was given wide coverage by the Arab press this week. Iran's IRNA news agency reported: "In a marked escalation of the Israeli repression of Palestinians, Zionist Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered his troops on the West Bank to tighten their blockade on Palestinian population centers."
A report from the Palestinian daily Al-Qods said Sharon made his decision Sunday night during a meeting with top Israeli generals, "including his hawkish chief of staff Shaul Mofaz and the heads of the Zionist regime's external and domestic intelligence agencies." IRNA described the move to be "typical of Sharon [who is] a former army officer and a certified war criminal."
Furthermore, IRNA claims that low-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers were given "what amounts to a 'carte blanche' to shoot Palestinians whenever they deemed fit." Arutz-7's Ron Meir was skeptical of the report: "Up until very recently, many security-minded people in Israel have criticized the IDF's hesitance to use live fire against firebomb-hurling Palestinians and even armed PLO gunmen. Soldiers are first instructed to shoot in the air, and then at their attacker's feet; I find it hard to believe that the IDF would suddenly instruct soldiers to wantonly murder Arabs, to shoot them 'whenever they deemed fit.'"
A report from the Palestinian daily Al-Qods said Sharon made his decision Sunday night during a meeting with top Israeli generals, "including his hawkish chief of staff Shaul Mofaz and the heads of the Zionist regime's external and domestic intelligence agencies." IRNA described the move to be "typical of Sharon [who is] a former army officer and a certified war criminal."
Furthermore, IRNA claims that low-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers were given "what amounts to a 'carte blanche' to shoot Palestinians whenever they deemed fit." Arutz-7's Ron Meir was skeptical of the report: "Up until very recently, many security-minded people in Israel have criticized the IDF's hesitance to use live fire against firebomb-hurling Palestinians and even armed PLO gunmen. Soldiers are first instructed to shoot in the air, and then at their attacker's feet; I find it hard to believe that the IDF would suddenly instruct soldiers to wantonly murder Arabs, to shoot them 'whenever they deemed fit.'"