-Caveat Lector- http://www.jihadunspun.net/newsarchive/article_internal.php?article=33512&list=/newsarchive/index.php&;
Israel Arrests Freedom Fighters In Nablus Nov 13, 2002 Source: Associated Press Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night that if he's elected prime minister, his top priority would be to force Yasser Arafat into exile. But the country's current leader said Israel should not ``act in haste.'' Hours later, Israel's military stepped up its actions against Palestinian fighters, sending troops, dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers into the West Bank city of Nablus and nearby refugee camps early Wednesday, and fired missiles against a suspected weapons-making workshop in Gaza City. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The soldiers met little resistance and missiles rocked houses in the raid, witnesses said. ``The explosions are shaking our houses,'' said schoolteacher Hassan Abu-Rub, 38. Soldiers arrested about 30 wanted militants, mostly from the Hamas group, the army and witnesses said. Troops also enter the village of Bir Zeit near Ramallah, the army said. Netanyahu's remarks, which drew cheers at the Likud party convention Tuesday night, put him at odds with his boss, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has sought to marginalize Arafat but has not made any public statements about driving him out. Instead, Sharon told the convention in a speech that immediately followed Netanyahu's remarks that Israel shouldn't move too fast on expelling the Palestinian leader. Without specifying any steps he might take against Arafat, he pledged to wage an unrelenting battle against Palestinian militants, and predicted the effort could lead to a more moderate Palestinian leadership. ``The blows that are raining on the head of terror (groups) might lead to a historic change in which Palestinian society...might remove the government of terror that oppresses it, and go with us toward a (peace) process,'' he said. Netanyahu is challenging Sharon for the party leadership in January elections and has long called for Arafat's expulsion. His remarks have taken on added significance since he joined Sharon's caretaker government last week. ``The first order of business of the next government needs to be to expel this man,'' Netanyahu said in the televised speech. ``I promise you that as prime minister I will expel Arafat,'' he said. ``I think this is an absolute condition to eliminate terror.'' The United States, Israel's strongest ally, has also been extremely critical of Arafat and has cut direct contacts with him. But the Bush administration opposes driving him from power. Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh dismissed Netanyahu's statements. ``These threats are rejected and will not serve efforts by the international community to achieve peace and security in the region,'' he said. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued against such action. ``I think many governments around the world have indicated that it would be unwise to exile chairman Arafat. I hope this will not happen.'' Both Sharon and Netanyahu are hawks who have taken a tough line with the Palestinians. The Likud Party will hold a ballot on Nov. 28 to chose one of them as party leader. That vote is considered extremely important, because polls show Likud is likely to win the most seats in the Jan. 28 general elections, and the Likud leader would have the inside track to becoming prime minister. During the early hours Wednesday, Israeli helicopters fired four missiles on a suspected weapons-making workshop in downtown Gaza City, the second such strike on the site in two days, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The attack demolished a car repair shop that had been severely damaged in a similar pre-dawn attack on Monday. The shop was empty at the time, and there were no reports of casualties. The incursion in Nablus came a day after Israeli leaders began a military response to a Palestinian shooting spree Sunday that killed five Israelis at a communal farm, Kibbutz Metzer, in northern Israel, including a mother and her two young sons. The army confirmed there was a military operation under way, but did not comment further. Troops fired machine guns toward the Balata refugee camp on the eastern side of the city, in an apparent response to a roadside explosion set off by Palestinians in the area, witnesses said. Israeli tanks moved into the city center and took up positions around the Old City quarter of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Israeli troops briefly raided the West Bank town of Tulkarem on Tuesday seeking the killer, with soldiers flattening the deserted house of one militia leader and arresting three suspects. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia loosely linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack - but the Palestinian leader denied Fatah was involved. ``It's not from Fatah,'' he said at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. ``This is not the first time for me to be blamed for such an action. You should not forget that we have condemned it immediately.'' The Al Aqsa group says it is loyal to Arafat, but also insists it carries out attacks without seeking permission from or informing the Palestinian leadership. Also Tuesday, about 2,000 Palestinian mourners in the southern Gaza Strip took part in a funeral for two boys, ages 2 and 8, who were killed by Israeli army fire, according to the Palestinians. Two-year-old Nafez Mashal was killed Monday by Israeli army fire from a nearby outpost while he was playing ball with other boys, Palestinians said. The Israeli army denied troops targeted children, saying soldiers responded after coming under fire. The other boy, Mohammed Abu Naja, died from wounds he suffered Oct. 17. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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