Israeli Tanks and Bulldozers Destroy Rafah Airport Runway

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 11, 2002

Israeli Tanks and Bulldozers Destroy Rafah Airport Runway

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Twelve Israeli tanks and five bulldozers rolled into the Palestinian Authority's airport by the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and destroyed its runway early Friday, security sources and witnesses said.

The Israeli troops opened heavy machine-gun fire upon entering the area, security and witnesses said.

The offensive into self-rule Palestinian land followed Israel's razing of dozens of Palestinian homes predawn Thursday in Rafah.

The destruction of homes came less than 24 hours after the killing of four Israeli soldiers by two gunmen from the radical group Hamas at an isolated army post on the Israeli border near Rafah.

Israel also bulldozed strips of the Palestinian Authority airport's runway last month as part of a withering land and air campaign against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in answer to two suicide bombings claimed by Hamas at the start of December.

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