ISRAEL - Occupies Palestinian land; minister warns of all-out war

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BBC Thursday, 17 May, 2001, 09:23 GMT 10:23 UK

Israel occupies Palestinian land

The Israeli army says it is establishing outposts in a number of buildings in Palestinian territory to prevent their use for attacks on Israeli targets.

It is the first time Israel has publicly stated that it is taking over control of some Palestinian-controlled areas indefinitely.

The development came as Public Security Minister Uzi Landau warned that Israel would have to mount "all-out" confrontation with the Palestinians to end more than seven months of violence.

On Wednesday, Israeli helicopter gunship attacks for the first time launched attacks on Palestinian targets without any specific act of provocation.

Changing tactics

The Israeli army in a statement issued on Wednesday night said it would remain indefinitely in some properties it had captured on Palestinian territory .

The move, it said, was "strictly for military reasons... as part of defensive measures and security needs at this time".

BBC Jerusalem correspondent Hilary Andersson says that, although the key buildings occupied so far are only a few metres inside Palestinian territory, the development is highly significant.

Until now Israel's policy has been one of "pinpointing" targets in Palestinian areas with hard-hitting raids and rapid withdrawals.

Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to prevent anti-Israeli violence or curb the activities of armed groups.

Stepping up activities

In outspoken comments to Reuters news agency in New York, Public Security Minister Uzi Landau painted a picture of increased violence in the Middle East in the coming months.

"You have a clear decision by the Palestinian Authority to step up terrorist activities until by violent means they will be able to push us around and extract concessions that we are not prepared to do," Mr Landau said.

And that, he warned, meant one thing for Israel.

"We are also stepping up our activity in order to protect ourselves. But I believe eventually we will have to... combat them all out."

Mr Landau also confirmed that Israeli troops had made a mistake when they shot dead five Palestinian policemen on Monday.

Rocket attacks

There was heavy fighting in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with Israeli helicopter gunships firing rockets at Palestinian security bases.

The Israelis say one of the targets they hit was a building used for the production of mortars.

There were also intense gunfights near the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with some 20 Palestinians wounded.

Our correspondent says the situation is extremely tense, with the conflict clearly stepping up another notch.

On Wednesday, Israeli helicopter gunships carried out two separate rocket attacks against buildings belonging to the Palestinian security forces in which at least 10 people are reported to have been injured.

The attacks came at the end of another day in which Israel launched a series of incursions into Palestinian territory.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2001


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