Military

DATE=04/29/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (L)

NUMBER=2-289209

BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICE AT:

INTRO: Israeli tanks and troops raided the West Bank city of Hebron Monday. Israeli authorities say the incursion is aimed at "the terrorist infrastructure" in the Hebron. At least seven Palestinians have been killed and the Israeli army says at least 17 Palestinians have been arrested. Correspondent Meredith Buel has details from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Under cover of darkness, Israeli troops backed by helicopters entered Palestinian-controlled areas of Hebron.

The Israeli army says it carried out house-to-house searches for militants and confiscated explosive materials, automatic weapons and missiles.

The military says among those arrested are members of the militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the military wing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

Israeli soldiers in Hebron have declared a curfew, confining Palestinians to their homes.

The operation was in response to an attack by Palestinian militants last Saturday on the nearby Jewish settlement of Adora.

Palestinian gunmen infiltrated the settlement, killing four Israelis, including a five-year-old girl.

The incursion into Hebron came after Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a plan, proposed by the United States, to end the siege of Mr. Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah.

The proposal calls for six Palestinians wanted by Israel to be held in a Palestinian jail, with their confinement monitored by American and British wardens.

The Palestinians are wanted by Israel for the assassination of a cabinet minister and involvement in an arms shipment intercepted by Israeli commandos earlier this year.

Israel had been demanding their extradition as a condition for lifting the blockade of Mr. Arafat's compound.

On Monday a Palestinian gunman hiding in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was shot and killed by Israeli troops surrounding the basilica.

An army spokesman says the man was shot when he entered a courtyard with a gun.

Palestinians say the man was a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group linked to Mr. Arafat.

About 200 people, including gunmen, are in the church, which is surrounded by Israeli soldiers and tanks.

Israel is demanding that the militants surrender and be put on trial or exiled.

Palestinians have proposed that the men be transferred to the Gaza Strip.

Negotiations to end the siege have so far been unsuccessful.

The Church of the Nativity is a Christian shrine built over the site where tradition says Jesus was born. (Signed)

NEB/MB/KL/FC