Military

DATE=8/13/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (L)

NUMBER=2-293000

BYLINE=ROSS DUNN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED

INTRO: Israel has demolished the homes of two Palestinians and is preparing to expel three more from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. Ross Dunn in Jerusalem reports the moves are part of an Israeli policy aimed at deterring more terrorist attacks.

TEXT: Israeli troops demolished two houses in the southern part of the West Bank, bringing to at least 20 the number of Palestinian homes destroyed since mid-July.

One of the houses belonged to a Palestinian suspected of shooting at Israeli soldiers in the Israeli city of Beersheva, killing two. The second home was owned by a suicide bomber who blew himself up in June in Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, killing two bystanders.

On Monday, an Israeli military court approved the expulsion of three relatives of suicide bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

The three plan to petition Israel's Supreme Court in the hope of blocking the order, which is due to go into effect today (Tuesday). The Israeli government will ask for the decision to be upheld, arguing that targeting the families of Palestinian assailants will help prevent future attacks.

Meanwhile, Palestinian factions appeared to be at odds over a proposed common strategy on armed struggle against Israel.

Representatives of leading Palestinian groups have been meeting in Gaza City to discuss a document, which hints at halting attacks inside Israel.

Some senior officials of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction are calling for operations to be limited to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War.

But spokesmen for Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, made it clear the organization would continue to strike at targets inside Israel, saying it is fundamentally opposed to the continued existence of the Jewish state.

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