Israel Destroys Palestinian Police Stronghold

Israeli army units destroyed a Palestinian police stronghold last night and cleared the vicinities of Rafiah in the South of the Gaza Strip of all bush and trees. Once the operation that involved tanks and bulldozers was over, the army units returned to their initial positions, sources in Israel report. The Israelis stress they did not enter the so called A Zone that is fully controlled by the Palestinian Administration under the Norway Accords. The official authorities note that the destroyed stronghold had been used by the Palestinians to shell Kfar Aza, an Israeli settlement, and an Israeli army checkpoint. The trees and bush are said to obstruct reconnaissance by the Israeli military and provide cover to Palestinians for close-up shelling of the settlement. Palestinian sources report that the night operation was accompanied by a shootout that left ten Palestinians wounded.