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| Middle East |
| Nablus gets thumped... |
| 2002-11-13 |
| In the biggest sweep in months, Israeli troops stormed into Nablus in dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, rounding up 30 suspected Palestinian militants. With Israeli helicopter gunships hovering overhead, armored vehicles poured into the city before dawn Wednesday. As the vehicles patrolled the mostly deserted streets, a few youths threw stones and firebombs. "This operation will continue as long as we believe that it is valuable in damaging the terror infrastructure," said Shaul Mofaz, the defense minister. "We are not limited in time, we are not limited in the type of operation." "Our biggest constraint is trying to find the sonsofbitches..." The focus of Wednesday's raid were several militant strongholds — the Old City, two neighborhoods near An Najah University, as well as the Balata and Askar refugee camps on the outskirts of Nablus. There were sporadic gunfights but no injuries reported. Several explosions were heard in the Old City, or Casbah, apparently set off by soldiers breaking open doors. Tanks sealed all exits from the Casbah, a maze of alleys and covered passageways and the scene of fierce fighting in April. Troops took over a nearby girls' elementary school as a makeshift base. Israel declared Nablus a closed military zone, and soldiers barred journalists from taking pictures or talking to those rounded up. The army said 30 suspected militants were arrested. I think the IDF has pretty well had it up to here with the journos. I hope they get the guys they're looking for — and a few others, too. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #3 So, Onlooker, NO mention of the mom and two boys who got killed last Sunday, hmm??? Keeping your eyes focussed on the issues of only one side makes your mind go blind... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2002-11-14 08:10:20 |
| #2 Onlooker, if your logic was at all applicable, the last 20 years would have surely provided the Palestinians with better than a 3-1 death/kill ratio. At any rate, I find it hard to take your point seriously since an additional, possible threat from an already actively hostile enemy is no argument for inaction, which appears to be what you advocate. The only mistake the Israelis made is that they failed to take such decisive action to its logical conclusion back in the day; one can only hope that there is still time to kill enough of the more rabid Palis now. |
| Posted by: Lizard_King 2002-11-13 23:17:41 |
| #1 Bravo! Great work by the IDF. But against whom: unarmed Palestinian civilians. For every one Palestinian killed by the "brave" IDF, two will don the suicide garb and blow up ten more Israelis. Calculate the losses in a decade and sum up the equation. Actually Israel looses in the long run. next time tell your bosses not to harp on the Human Rights flawed slogans. IDF kills three year old baby and the world looks the other way. Well, ten more suicide bombings for this crime expected in the future. |
| Posted by: Onlooker 2002-11-13 18:49:41 |