Israeli Troops Around Palestinian Villages Near Jerusalem example essay topic

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Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian activist in the West Bank, and there has been a build-up of Israeli troops around Palestinian villages near Jerusalem. Palestinians say a member of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction I mad Abu Sneineh was gunned down by undercover Israeli soldiers near his home in Hebron. Palestinian officials call the killing an assassination. Israeli tanks and bulldozers have withdrawn from the Palestinian-ruled town of Jenin in the West Bank, several hours after launching a raid to destroy a Palestinian police building. The Israeli army says it destroyed the building in the center of Jenin early Tuesday in response to a series of Palestinian terror attacks. The statement says the latest Palestinian suicide bombing on Sunday was directed from Jenin.

Palestinian officials say at least 10 tanks and two bulldozers took part in the raid and encountered fire from Palestinian gunmen. It was the first Israeli incursion into an autonomous Palestinian town since the beginning of hostilities 10 months ago. The violence follows a heavy Israeli military buildup Monday surrounding Jenin. Israeli forces have briefly entered Palestinian-controlled areas several times in recent months. In most cases, the brief incursions were in relatively open areas of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says Friday's closure of Orient House, the unofficial Palestinian headquarters in East Jerusalem, 'is not permanent.

' Mr. Peres says the Israeli takeover was a warning, not an act of revenge - and a way to say to the Palestinians 'stop killing. ' Israeli police took over Orient House a day after a suicide bomber of the Hamas movement killed 15 people and himself in a Jerusalem restaurant. The Orient House takeover has sparked international criticism, with the United States calling it a dangerous 'political escalation. ' Palestinians also protested against the takeover Monday by organizing a general strike in Palestinian areas. Meanwhile, Israeli police shot and killed a suspected Palestinian militant late Monday at a roadblock in the West Bank near the city of Ramallah. Israeli officials say the slain Palestinian was wanted for the murder of an Israeli teenager last month.

Israeli military sources say the man was wanted for a number of attacks on Jewish settlers in Hebron. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out new troops movements overnight in the vicinity of Bethlehem and nearby villages. Tanks and heavy military vehicles moved into positions around the village of Beit Jala, where Palestinian gunmen earlier fired for several hours at the Jewish settlement of Gil o on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned the Palestinian Authority it could pay a heavy price if violence continues. The warning came Tuesday, after Israeli tanks and bulldozers carried out a brief raid into the city of Jenin and destroyed a Palestinian police headquarters before withdrawing. The Palestinian Authority called the military incursion a 'declaration of war.

' Palestinians are also seeking a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to press for an international protection forces. President Bush has called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to 'clamp down' on suicide bombers. Mr. Bush also urged Israel to show more restraint.