Israelis Mount Assault on Arafat Complex
J E R U S A L E M, June 5 -- Israeli military forces once again pushed into the West Bank city of Ramallah and mounted an armed assault on Yasser Arafat's headquarters, according to media reports.
The Israeli action early Thursday took place less than 24 hours after a car bombing in northern Israel that killed 17 passengers on a bus. Palestinian militants claimed responsibility, although two different groups said each was responsible.
Israeli military sources confirmed an action was taking place inside Ramallah but declined to discuss details, according to Reuters. In Jerusalem, which is south of Ramallah, muffled booms could be heard.
Palestinian sources said the Israeli tanks were firing heavy machine guns at the complex of Arafat, the Palestinian leader who is viewed as an enemy by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Witnesses told The Associated Press at least two tanks and three armored personnel carriers have surrounded Arafat's office compound.
Rush-Hour Tragedy
The car bomb was detonated alongside a crowded bus near the Israeli city of Megiddo, a few miles from the northern border of the West Bank, during the Wednesday morning rush hour.
The explosion ignited the fuel tank of the bus, and the force of the ensuing blast threw some passengers from the vehicle and trapped others in an inferno that left the bus a mangled wreck of molten metal.
Hours after the blast, Israeli forces attacked the West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestinian security sources. Helicopters fired machine guns into the city and a nearby refugee camp that came under heavy Israeli attack earlier this year. Tanks and troops had also moved into the city, Palestinian sources said.
Jenin is now under Israeli military curfew. However, Israeli officials said there were routine operations.
The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, saying the attack marked the 35th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast War, during which Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The bomber is widely believed to have come from the refugee camp near Jenin and residents of the shattered camp were preparing for an Israeli retaliation.
