Israeli aircraft attacked Palestinian government headquarters in the West Bank town of Tulkarem and moved troops into Ramallah in retaliation for a Palestinian shooting up a little girl's bat mitzvah. Israeli forces occupied the Ramallah homes of Tawfeek Terawi, the Palestinian Authority's intelligence chief, and Fatah movement leader Marwan Barghouti. Israeli troops also reoccupied the town of Bitunia, which is adjacent to Ramallah in the West Bank, and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer ordered the army to close off access to the Palestinian territories.
Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed the "credit" for this attack, and the Palestinians bitched that the Israelis had their plan already worked out to avenge the attack. It's pretty hard to justify an attack that vicious and stupid. |