Israeli troops took over the Palestinian town of Kalkilya late Sunday night. Eight Israeli soldiers were injured in what is known as Operation Protective Wall. Israel’s Army Radio reported that electricity and water were cut in Kalkilya before the army pushed into the city. Israeli officials charge that Kalkilya has served as a base for terror attacks on nearby Israeli cities. On Monday, Israeli tanks briefly rumbled into Bethlehem and the nearby villages of Al Khader and Beit Jalla in an operation Israeli leaders said was designed to end Palestinian terror attacks. A few hours after the incursion, the tanks left Al Khader and they also pulled back in Bethlehem to patrol the town’s outskirts. Four of the suicide bombers who struck in Israel in the last five days came from areas near Kalkilya, and a female bomber who hit Jerusalem last Friday was from the Bethlehem area. The army meanwhile is remaining in Ramallah, where Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has been isolated at his headquarters since last Friday. Israeli troops were reported to be engaged in an intense firefight with Palestinian gunmen in the streets of Ramallah on Monday.
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