Print

Mail

wiki links

Israel pulls troops out of Nablus

Israeli soldiers stand in an alley on the second day of a military operation in the West Bank town of Nablus on Monday. PHOTO: EPA

The Israeli army pulled its troops and armored vehicles out of the West Bank city of Nablus early yesterday after a three-day operation targeting Palestinian militants, Palestinians said.

At dawn yesterday no Israeli forces were visible in Nablus. But the army did not confirm the end of the raid, the largest military operation in the West Bank in months, which left tens of thousands of residents in the city's center confined to their homes while troops searched for wanted men.

Adli Yaish, the mayor of Nablus, said the Israeli forces were gone and called on residents to resume their normal lives.

"We have to continue living," Yaish said, urging students and teachers to attend school yesterday.

Municipal workers had already begun cleaning the streets in the raid's aftermath, Yaish said.

But Nablus District Governor Kamal Sheikh said he feared the army had only briefly halted the operation.

"I think the Israeli military action is not over," Sheikh said.

One Palestinian, a 42-year-old man, was killed in the operation. The army said he was killed on Monday when troops fired at figures moving on the roof of a building where they had seen gunmen and where they later found a weapon. Palestinians said he was unarmed and was shot from a passing jeep.

The army said the Nablus raid was necessary because most of the suicide bombers trying to enter Israel from the West Bank come from the city. Troops arrested five wanted militants and uncovered workshops used to manufacture explosive devices, as well as a studio where suicide bombers recorded their farewell statements, the army said.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the offensive would "undermine the efforts" by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to maintain a ceasefire with Israel.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas condemned "the criminal Israeli assault on Nablus," saying it was designed to undermine Palestinian efforts to form a coalition government.
This story has been viewed 1053 times.