GEN - Israel retaliates for baby killing

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BBC

Tuesday, 27 March, 2001, 01:42 GMT 02:42 UK

Israel retaliates for baby shooting The Israeli army has ordered Palestinian residents to evacuate a district in the West Bank city of Hebron, following the shooting of the baby of a Jewish settler.

Israeli troops have retaliated for the incident using tanks and artillery to shell the Palestinian district of Abu Sneineh.

The army says 10-month-old Shalhevet Hass was deliberately targeted by a Palestinian sniper who opened fire on her home in the settlement of Avraham Avinuand, hitting her twice in the head.

Her father, who was holding her at the time, was seriously wounded.

Palestinian cabinet minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told the Reuters news agency in Jordan there was no evidence the baby was killed by Palestinian fire.

Retaliation

Reports said tanks and army jeeps were pouring into Hebron late on Monday, lining up between Jewish and Palestinian areas.

"It is a cold-blooded murder, there is no other word for it, because there was no provocation on our behalf," Israeli army commander Noam Tibon told the AFP news agency.

Hebron is frequently a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence between the 400 militant settlers who live in heavily guarded enclaves in the city centre surrounded by 100,000 Palestinians.

The shooting of the baby girl occurred during a day of violent clashes throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Israelis and Palestinians.

The girl's father, Yitzhak, was reported to have been seriously wounded in the shooting, which prompted Israeli troops to unleash heavy fire on a nearby building that Palestinian gunmen were believed to be using for cover.

Evacuation

Attempts to resuscitate the infant continued under heavy gunfire and a helicopter was sent to the area to evacuate the casualties.

But the girl, who had been shot twice in the head, died at the scene.

The BBC's correspondent in Jerusalem, Jeremy Cooke, says this incident will certainly shock public opinion across Israel.

He says it presents a challenge to the new Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was elected promising Israelis peace with security.

Clashes

Elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza, at least 10 Palestinians were reported to have been wounded on Monday in separate clashes that erupted as Arab leaders prepared for a summit on Tuesday in Jordan.

The summit will focus on the crisis in the Palestinian territories.

Reports say the army shot and wounded five Palestinians in the West Bank town of Jericho during a stone-throwing protest against Israel's blockade of the city.

In the Gaza Strip, a 15-year-old Palestinian youth was said to have been seriously wounded by gunfire at the Karni crossing point between Gaza and Israel.

More than 400 people have been killed since the uprising began, nearly 350 of them Palestinian, including dozens of children, more than 60 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs.

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2001

Answers

it can`t be much longer now...tic-toc! figure after the arab summit all he** will break loose. but don`t see how it can be any other way now. puts a churning in my gut. sweet dreams, eh?

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2001

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