Israelis pound refugee camp with missiles
Israeli helicopters fired nearly 20 missiles into the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank early today, witnesses said.
The missile barrage appeared to signal growing Israeli impatience with the gunmen in Jenin, where some of the fiercest battles have taken place during Israel’s 11-day drive to wipe out militant networks in the West Bank.
Before the missiles were fired shortly after midnight today, Israeli troops used loudspeakers to warn people in the camp that they should surrender or face a punishing attack, witnesses said.
The military would not comment on the attack, but a military source said that about 150 men put down their weapons and emerged from the camp early today.
But Jamal Abdel Salaam, a Hamas militant group leader inside the camp, said that only women, children and the elderly left the camp. The militants were staying put, ready to fight to the death, he said.
The hospital workers said that Israeli troops took a wounded elderly man to the hospital during the missile attack. It was not immediately known if there were other injuries or deaths.
Israeli troops and tanks began rumbling into the West Bank on March 29, beginning a massive hunt for weapons, explosives and militants following a series of suicide bombings and other attacks. The US government has been demanding an immediate pull-out over the past few days.
Later this week, US Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to arrive in Israel on a peace-making mission after visiting with leaders in Morocco, Egypt, Spain and Jordan.
So far, the Israelis have taken control of most of the West Bank’s population centres, but troops have faced stiff resistance in Jenin and another northern city, Nablus - both strongholds for militia groups.
Palestinians said gunmen held Israeli troops at bay yesterday on the edge of the Old City in Nablus, where Israel called in attack helicopters to fight the entrenched gunmen. At least 14 Palestinians were killed during yesterday’s fighting, Nablus Governor Mahmoud Aloul said.
