Israel Blows up Hebron Compound

[sassa]

I felt a chill when I read this...my God, how sick is Sharon???This has to stop...the Palestinians are clearly being massacred in an attempt to drive them from the land and eradicate them from the face of the earth...this is too much....

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Israel Blows Up Hebron Compound

Fri Jun 28, 9:53 PM ET

By NASSER SHIYOUKHI, Associated Press Writer

HEBRON, West Bank (AP) - Israeli forces on Saturday blew up the fortress-like Palestinian headquarters, leaving only rubble and apparently ending their 4-day-old standoff with wanted Palestinians who the army says were holed up inside, nearby residents said.

The Israel army would only say its operations were continuing in Hebron, but Palestinians living in four homes around the hilltop compound all said the building was no longer standing.

"I saw hills of rubble," said Mohammed Maswadeh, whose windows were blown out by the blast about 120 yards away. "There's nothing called the headquarters anymore."

Military officials have said about 15 wanted men were believed to be holed up in the building. The army spokesman's office refused to say whether soldiers had confirmed any deaths or if soldiers had learned anything more about the precise number of people inside.

Before the second blast, the Israeli army commented on the first, which residents said blew out about a quarter of the building. The army said its forces had rigged a part of the building where it believed the wanted men had been hiding, ignoring four days of calls to surrender.

The compound was surrounded early Tuesday as part of a West Bank military offensive that has confined 700,000 Palestinians to their homes while soldiers search for Palestinians suspected of links to deadly attacks on Israelis. The open-ended campaign, prompted by twin suicide bombings that killed 26 Israelis, began 10 days ago.

The compound, used in the past as a base for British, Jordanian and Israeli forces, today houses offices of the Palestinian Authority ( news - web sites)'s local governor and security forces. Scores of police officers had walked out of the building over the past four days, and the army said that 20 wanted men gave themselves up and were arrested.

Apache attack helicopters circled in the sky after the first explosion, which sent sparks high into the night sky. Smoke and fire could be seen then from a ground-floor corner, with flames flaring up the side of the four-story building before quickly dying down and out. Even before the explosions, the building had been badly damaged by missile fire and military bulldozers.

"The (army) operated in the Palestinians' security compound and detonated in a controlled manner a part of the building where wanted Palestinians were taking refuge and refused to turn themselves in," said the army statement released before the second blast.

Heavy fog settled in over the area before the second blast, and electricity failures in the area made it difficult to see the extent of damage. Curfews and an Israeli military order barring journalists made it impossible to approach.

But neighbors got a better view. Maswadeh compared the second blast to an earthquake ( news - web sites), saying everything in his house shook: "I'd never seen an explosion like that. The cars nearby blew into the air and dropped down."

Ibrahim Shehadeh's view used to be the headquarters. "Now, I can see everything from my house — the whole of Hebron," he said. The building "is demolished."

A former Palestinian Cabinet minister had been allowed in by the army Friday to negotiate a surrender. Talal Sidr said he couldn't find the men, but that he was unable to search all of the heavily damaged building. The army said afterward that its soldiers were certain the men were still inside.

While operating in the Hebron area, soldiers have found an explosives lab containing belts ready for use in suicide bombing missions, the army said. It said more than 50 suspects from Palestinian security forces had been arrested throughout Hebron.

Also on Friday, Israelis expressed anger over a photograph showing a Palestinian baby dressed up like a suicide bomber with apparently fake ammunition belts and explosives strapped to its body. The picture was released by the Israeli army.

A man who identified himself as the uncle of the baby in the picture but did not give his name told the British television network Sky News that the picture was authentic and the baby was dressed up at a party about six months ago at a university. Col. Miri Eisin, senior Israeli intelligence analyst, said the ammunition probably was not real.

Israel has raided seven of the eight major Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The army decided Friday to allow journalists, who have been banned from the besieged cities for 10 days, to work in six of them. Journalists remain barred from Hebron because of ongoing military operations, the army said.

[tribal]

im noticing that this entire conflict is eerily becoming an eye for an eye tribal warfare. no one has any moral high ground anymore. its tit for tat death. i really hate religion sometimes.

[gsp]

You Guys Are Idiots!

[igloo]

" felt a chill when I read this...my God, how sick is Sharon???This has to stop...the Palestinians are clearly being massacred in an attempt to drive them from the land and eradicate them from the face of the earth...this is too much"....-----quoted by the repulsive one-sided Sassa

You are such a fucking asshole it is unbelievable...it is amazing that you actually put your thoughts in writing, cause they clearly show what a fucking fool you are...

Seriously and with all honesty- words can not describe how fucking DUMB you are....

Every time I think you have reached a new low, you simply make a statement like above and demonstrate that the depths of your fucking idiosy is endless.....

You can't possibly be this fucking stupid....

[gsp]

A classic example of what religion does for the world.