Israeli Troops Kill 5 Palestinians in West Bank
17 October 2006
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have shot and killed five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Tuesday.
The Israeli army confirmed one man was hit when soldiers fired after coming under attack near the town of Jenin.
Witnesses say Israeli troops also killed two Palestinian teenagers throwing rocks.
They say Israeli undercover soldiers shot and killed two more Palestinians.
Also Tuesday, Israel's military said troops discovered a tunnel running under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. At least 13 other tunnels have been discovered in recent months. Israel says Palestinian militants use the tunnels to smuggle weapons into Gaza.
News reports from Israel, meanwhile, say officials there are planning a stepped-up offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
The reports quote Israeli officials as saying the Jewish state cannot tolerate Gaza becoming another southern Lebanon, a reference to heavily armed militants staging attacks on Israel from over the border.
Recent Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip have been mostly confined to air strikes against suspected bomb-makers and rocket installations.
Israel launched a broad offensive in the Gaza Strip in June after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier. That Israeli incursion included tanks and ground troops. More than 200 Palestinians were killed in the offensive.
The soldier has not been released.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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