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by Christian/Base21 Media Activist
dvs-b@t-online.de

The Israeli occupation army swept into several Palestinian towns Friday and Saturday to wreak revenge on Palestinian inhabitants for the Jerusalem bus-bombing Thursday that killed and injured scores of Israelis.

Dozens of Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers reoccupied the holy town of Bethlehem and re-imposed a curfew on its estimated 80,000 inhabitants.

The occupation forces laid siege on the Church of the Nativity in the city and bulldozed at least two homes, one belonging to the family of Nael Abu Hilayel, the Palestinian bomber who carried out the Jerusalem bus bombing.

Moreover, scores of civilians were arrested in Bethlehem and surrounding villages and refugee camps, among them Abu Hilayel’s father.

In the nearby village of Khader, the Israeli army took over several civilian homes after kicking out dwellers who became homeless.

An Israeli occupation spokesman said the measure was taken for “security reasons.”

In Jenin, the city which has borne the brunt of Israeli savagery and barbarism, Israeli occupation troops shot dead a ten-year-old Palestinian child for hurling a stone on an Israeli tank.

The indiscriminate shooting by trigger-happy Israeli soldiers also resulted in the killing of a British aide worker.

Moreover, Israeli troops have raided many parts of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip and several villages in the al-Khalil region.

Meanwhile, the estimated 180,000 inhabitants of Hebron continued for the second consecutive week to languish under a hermetic curfew which keeps them locked down inside their homes.

Palestinian sources said the curfew was causing deep human distress to the defenseless civilians who couldn’t purchase food or go to their jobs due to the paralyzing curfew.

On Friday, civic leaders in the city accuse the Israeli army of employing Nazi tactics against innocent people.

“This is an insidious form of collective punishment, locking down the inhabitants of an entire town inside their homes for many days and weeks is unacceptable by any civilized standard,” said a statement issued by the coalition of the Islamic and Nationalist groups in the city.

The United States has called on the Israeli regime to relax its repressive measures against Palestinian civilians.

However, Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz, a certified war criminal for his role in the destruction of the Jenin camp massacre, said he was imposing no restrictions on the Israeli army operations against Palestinian civilians.