 Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships raided a Gaza Strip town yesterday, killing three Palestinians and wounding at least nine others, witnesses said. The raid came hours after the announcement of Yasser Arafat's death.
| So much for the Peace Processor™... |
In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli cars and burned tires to vent their outrage over Arafat's death, the army said.
| That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense... Of a sort... I guess. |
Israeli troops used bullets and fired tear gas to break up the rally of about 400 people at Beit Umar, a village near Hebron, the army said. Two border patrol officers were slightly wounded and seven Israeli cars were damaged, the army said. Troops went into Sheik Ejilin, a Gaza City neighborhood near the Netzarim settlement, after spotting fighters preparing to fire rockets and plant bombs directed against the Jewish settlement, the army said. Military officials said troops hit 12 Palestinian gunmen during the operation but did not know their conditions. Palestinian hospital officials said three bodies were evacuated from the area and 14 people were hospitalized, including a 42-year-old woman who was in a critical condition with shrapnel from a tank shell in her head.
| Bet that hurt. Hope her ululator wasn't damaged... |
Two of the dead and six of the wounded were identified as fighters, according to hospital officials.
| The rest were puppies, kittens, baby ducks, fluffy bunnies, and the lady with a tank round lodged in her head... |
Witnesses reported heavy fighting between the troops and fighters from different organizations, with helicopters sporadically firing machine guns. In Bethlehem, dozens of Palestinians heaved boulders and rocks at Israeli troops and tossed an explosive device at soldiers. The second demonstration occurred in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Rocks also were thrown at Israeli cars on a road linking Jerusalem and the West Bank. |