Israeli Troops Took Over Qalqilya in West Bank

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 01, 2002

Israeli Troops Took Over Qalqilya in West Bank

Israeli army, including infantry troops and armored vehicles, took over on Monday the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.

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Israeli army, including infantry troops and armored vehicles, took over on Monday the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.

Israel Radio reported that eight Israeli soldiers were injured, with one in serious conditions, in an explosion during the incursion into the town.

Large forces of Israeli army infantry, armor and combat engineers poured into and took over Qalqilya overnight, as Israel's "Operation Defense Wall" entered its fourth day on Monday, said the radio.

Palestinian security sources said that Israeli troops also operated in the West Bank town of Tulkarm and tightened the blockade over the town, adding that the towns of Bethlehem, Beit Jalla and Beit Sahour have already been taken over by the army since Saturday.

The Israeli army rolled into the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday and confined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to his office while disconnecting him from the outside world.

On Sunday night, Palestinians said that power and water supply to Ramallah was cut, adding that some 100 tanks and other armored vehicles entered and took over the town.

On Sunday, Arafat remained besieged as Israeli troops battled his guards and tightened their ring around his headquarters in Ramallah.

Witnesses said that at least two people were killed and six of Arafat's guards wounded in Ramallah on Sunday, and scores of Palestinians were arrested in the city.

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