Israeli army storms West Bank villages

GAZA, Jul 28, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Israeli attack Apache helicopters fired missiles and heavy ammunition on Sunday at several villages of the West Bank cities of Jenin and Hebron, Palestinian residents said.
They said the Israeli army supported by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters, raided some houses and farms of the villages of Burqin, Selat Al Dhaher, Zababdeh and Qabatya of the Jenin areas.

The residents in the village of Burqin said the Israeli troops raided the house of Mazen Jaradat, a member of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military wing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, who was killed several months ago in an armed attack against Israel.

After the raid, the soldiers rushed into the house, searched it, and forced several peace movement activists, who were sitting in the house to prevent Israeli army from destroying the house, to leave there.

Palestinian Radio reported that as the Israeli army raided those villages, it imposed curfew on them, adding that at least four Palestinians were arrested during the operation.

Meanwhile, Palestinians said the Israeli army raided the villages of Ithna and Yatta in the areas of Hebron, adding that Israeli troops gathered all males aged from 15 to 50 in the villages, put them in schools and started questioning one by one.

Following two suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem in June, Israeli army reoccupied most of the West Bank towns and villages that were under the Palestinian control.

After they reoccupied the areas, the Israeli army had kept more than 1 million Palestinians under curfew, and lifted the curfew for a few hours every day to enable the residents to buy food.