Military

DATE=4/1/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (L)

NUMBER=2-288206

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Israeli troops expanded their operations in the West Bank on the fourth day of an Israeli military campaign to stop Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis. On Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Israeli public the country is at war against terrorism. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Jerusalem the widening military campaign comes after five suicide bombings in as many days have killed more than 40 people.

TEXT: Israel's military says it has taken control of Qalqilya. A statement also reports that eight soldiers were injured there after a bomb exploded near them during searches for wanted Palestinian militants and weapons.

Troops and tanks rolled into the northern West Bank town during the night Sunday.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces have moved into the town of Bethlehem. Tanks are reportedly stationed within 500 meters of the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. On Friday, a teenage suicide bomber from Bethlehem blew herself up in a Jerusalem supermarket.

Israeli tanks also remain positioned inside Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. Mr. Arafat has been confined to his offices since Israel launched its military assault on the compound last Friday.

A 48-hour curfew has been imposed on Ramallah while Israeli forces search for Palestinian militants.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calls Mr. Arafat an enemy of Israel. In a brief t-v broadcast Sunday, he said Israel is in a war against terrorism and would prevail. But he did not say how long the military campaign will last.

The anti-terrorism offensive was launched after a suicide bombing last Wednesday that killed 22 people as they were celebrating the start of the Passover holiday. There have been four more suicide bombings against Israelis since then.

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Prime Minister Sharon holds Mr. Arafat responsible for not curbing the militants. He says the current military offensive aims to isolate Mr. Arafat and uproot terrorist networks operating in Palestinian territories.

Mr. Sharon says Israel does not intend to harm Mr. Arafat personally. A defiant Yasser Arafat has told Arab and American T-V he will never surrender to Israel forces.

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While Israeli tanks and troops push farther into the West Bank, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is warning of more attacks from across the northern border with Lebanon.

He tells Israel Radio suspected Hezbollah guerrillas opened fire on an Israeli patrol in the border area during the night Sunday, the second attack in two days. On Saturday, Israeli jets attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in response to mortar and rocket fire on a border outpost. (Signed)

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