Israelis Confirm Ten Palestinians Died During Israeli Army Operation

The press-service of the Israeli army has confirmed that during clashes on Wednesday morning in the Arab community of Beit Rima near Ramallah, ten Palestinians were killed. Two of them were activists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the others members of the radical Islamic organisation HAMAS. The Israelis emphasise that all the ten were armed and died in an exchange of fire. Israeli army units entered Beit Rima under tank cover at dawn. This territory belongs to so-called Zone A, which is fully controlled by the Palestine National Authority. Servicemen at once took up positions on some rooftops. As reported by the Israelis in the morning, ten Palestinians were wounded in an exchange of fire. Several people were arrested. The Palestinians emphasised that the Israelis did not even let Red Crescent ambulances to the scene. Denying this report, the Israelis nevertheless acknowledged that "for technical reasons" these ambulances were indeed prevented for some time from entering the community. But the wounded, they indicated, were treated by Israeli army medics and local Palestinian personnel. Some of the Palestinians were later taken to hospital Tel A-Shomer outside Tel Aviv.