Israel strikes back hard for Netanya suicide bombing

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN), MAY 19. Israel today used helicopter gun-ships to strike at Palestinian security targets in the West Bank town of Tulkarm after having used planes to bombard other targets late yesterday evening and night.

Ten Palestinians were killed in the raids which came in sequence to a suicide bomb attack by a Hamas militant in which six Israelis were killed. World leaders have called for an end to the spiral of violence but unless they intervene with something more than talk, it does not appear the descent into disaster will be stalled.

The Israelis targeted Palestinian security establishments in the raids yesterday and today. While a Hamas militant in the custody of the Palestinian security services in Nablus was supposedly the target of one of the raids yesterday, a Palestinian security official was the target of the other attack in Ramallah. The militant, Mr. Mahmoud Hanoud, was wounded in the attack but was taken to safety while the security official, Mr. Mahmoud Damra, was not in the Ramallah office when it was struck. Instead, nine Palestinians were killed in Nablus and one body was recovered from the rubble in Ramallah.

Although some individuals have been named as the targets of the Israeli raids, the fact that Palestinian security establishments were attacked appears to connect up with the Israeli accusations that Palestinian officialdom was directly responsible for the violence. The Palestinian Authority President, Mr. Yasser Arafat's bodyguard unit, Force-17 as it is called, has borne the brunt of the Israeli attacks.

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Section  : International
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