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Israeli push into Hebron leaves 9 dead

Israeli forces pushed into the West Bank city of Hebron early yesterday, killing nine Palestinians, just hours after Israel's Cabinet reluctantly agreed to a US proposal to release Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from his monthlong confinement and allow him to travel freely.

Israel said Arafat was free to leave his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. However, Israeli tanks continued to surround his compound yesterday, and Arafat was not expected to make a move for a day or two, until six Palestinians wanted by Israel were moved from his compound to a prison in the town of Jericho.

Israel gave its consent to ending Arafat's confinement with the understanding that the US, in turn, would stand by Israel's side in an increasingly tense showdown with the UN over a fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp, government officials said.

At another flashpoint, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a Palestinian militiaman was killed by Israeli sniper fire yesterday when he walked into a courtyard, the army said. Three monks later carried the body out of the compound. The church has been under Israeli siege for a month, with more than 200 armed Palestinians holed up inside.

Israeli forces entered the West Bank city of Hebron at about 4:30am, with tanks and armored personnel carriers driving in from all directions.

Nine Palestinians, including six civilians, were killed by Israeli fire, Palestinian witnesses said. In the bloodiest incident, a missile fired from an Israeli helicopter hit a one-story house, killing a gunman and four civilians. Two more civilians who rushed to the scene to try to help were killed by helicopter fire, witnesses said.

In downtown Hebron, Israeli troops lined up dozens of Palestinian men against a wall, handcuffing and blindfolding them. Several of the men knelt on the pavement, as Israeli troops stood guard.

Ben-Eliezer said troops arrested 17 Palestinians in Hebron, including several high on Israel's wanted list, and found two suitcases filled with explosives, as well as a car bomb ready for detonation.

Ben-Eliezer said troops wouldn't stay long. "We went there to hit that infrastructure [of terror groups] and to get out quickly," he said.

The defense minister said he expected to pull troops out of Ramallah within a few days, once the six wanted men had been moved, and hoped the Bethlehem standoff would be resolved soon. "We are in the last stage of the entire operation," Ben-Eliezer said.

The Hebron incursion came in retaliation for a weekend attack on the nearby Jewish settlement of Adora, in which four Israelis, including a 5-year-old girl, were killed. Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack.

Arafat's monthlong confinement drew to a close after Israel on Sunday agreed to a US-proposed arrangement for the six wanted men inside the compound -- the four assassins of Israeli Cabinet Minister Rehavam Zeevi, the leader of the four men's political faction and an Arafat aide suspected of arms smuggling.

Under the plan, the six would be transferred to Jericho, where their imprisonment would be supervised by US and British officials, said Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. The minister said the six would be moved from Ramallah to Jericho in the next 48 hours.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said Arafat would be able to move freely in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to travel abroad, something he has not been able to do since December, when Israel first barred him from leaving Ramallah.

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