Israel Raids Four Camps In Gaza
Israeli forces were on the move Thursday in the Gaza Strip, three teen-age Palestinian boys were laid to rest after an attempted attack on settlements, and an Israeli couple awoke to find a terrorist in their Northern Israel home.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopters raided four refugee camps in the Gaza Strip overnight, sparking exchanges of fire with Palestinian gunmen, and destroying several homes. The army said the raid was part of Israel's "continuing war on terrorism."
The army has demolished dozens of homes in the Rafah area, a flashpoint of violence during the past 27 months of fighting. Two soldiers were lightly injured in Rafah when their armored vehicle ran over a bomb, the army said.
CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger reports the couple was awakened by a gunshot in their home. When the man ran out to see what happened, he encountered a Palestinian armed with an assault rifle. The Israeli, Roland Mori, said the gunman tried to shoot but his weapon jammed, said Mori. Then he and his wife fled the house, with the Palestinian holed up inside. An Israeli anti-terror unit arrived and killed the gunman.
An Israeli human rights group said Thursday Israel is holding 1,007 Palestinians in indefinite detention, without charges or trial, the largest number in more than a decade and a sharp increase from last year.
The human rights group B'tselem said Israel is violating international law by using so-called administrative detentions on a wide scale, arbitrarily and in cases where there are only slight suspicions against people.
"It is not directed at a small group of people risking the security of Israel," said B'tselem researcher Yael Stein. "It is widespread."
Three Palestinian boys buried Thursday, ages 14 and 15, carried a knife and two cutters as they scaled a fence around Jewish settlements, and had talked about dreams of being killed in an attack on Israelis, a relative said. They apparently acted on their own, with militias saying they had not recruited them.
In the Jebaliya refugee camp in Gaza, about 1,500 mourners marched Thursday in the funeral procession for cousins Mohammed and Tareq Dawais and a friend, Jihad Abed.
Fares Dawais said his younger brother Mohammed, 15, had his mind set on carrying out an attack on Israelis. "His only dream was to become a martyr," Dawais said.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat accused Israeli troops of using excessive force. "The rate of Palestinian children killed at the hands of Israeli soldiers is alarming and requires immediate international intervention," he said.
In 2002, 118 Palestinians under the age of 18 were killed in the fighting, most by Israeli army fire. In the same period, 36 Israeli minors were killed in shootings and bombings by Palestinian militants.
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing to conduct the most comprehensive tests yet on its new anti-missile system, amid fears of a U.S. attack on Iraq.
Israel believes the attack on Iraq could come in February, so it is planning new tests of its state-of-the-art Arrow anti-missile system. Until now, Arrow tests involved the firing of only single anti-missiles. The upcoming tests will involve multiple launches aimed at shooting down Iraqi missiles that might be fired at Israel. Israel's defense minister said if there are glitches, technicians will have enough time to fix them before the expected U.S. attack on Iraq.
With just over three weeks to go before the Israeli elections, the race is tightening up.
According to two polls out Thursday, the vote-buying scandal is continuing to cut into the lead of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party. The polls show the Likud winning 31 or 34 seats in the 120 member Knesset, down from around 40 seats before the scandal. That is still a comfortable lead over the dovish Labor party, which the polls say will win 21 or 22 seats. However, the narrowing margin means Sharon will have to depend on moderate parties to form a stable coalition.