Of course, taken from BBC.com Israeli tanks enter Gaza Tanks took up positions around Nablus on Thursday The Israeli army entered Gaza City early on Thursday, backed by tanks and helicopters. Palestinian officials said that the two-kilometre (1.2 mile) incursion was the deepest for two years. Witnesses said that about 20 Israeli tanks were within 200 metres of the home of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. On Thursday a two-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and his mother injured after Israeli tanks opened fire on the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The boy is the fourth child to die in the past five days in violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Earlier in the day, Israeli forces took over the West Bank town of Nablus, arresting at least 30 Palestinians in retaliation for the killing of five Israelis in a kibbutz over the weekend. Hawkish Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fuelled the tension further by reiterating comments he made the day before - urging the Security Council to send Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat into exile. Young children have recently become fatally involved in the conflict Contrasting accounts The father of the dead Palestinian boy, Assad Masari, said he was killed by unprovoked Israeli gunfire. But an Israeli military source insisted the troops were returning fire after being attacked by an anti-tank missile. The town of Rafah, where the shooting took place, is near the Egyptian border and often sees clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. Another two-year-old boy was killed in Gaza by Israeli gunfire on Sunday. Just a day before, two Israeli boys aged four and five, were among those killed by a Palestinian gunman in the kibbutz attack in Northern Israel. Hunt for gunman The Israeli incursion into Nablus at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Wednesday morning was one of the largest in months, with Palestinian sources describing the arrival of dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles into the town. In a statement, the Israel army said most of those arrested were from the Islamic group Hamas. The operation started 24 hours after Israeli troops raided the nearby town of Tulkarm, arresting three men. Israel security sources said they were hunting for the gunman who stuck at the kibbutz, focusing their attention on a man identified as Sirhan Sirhan, a distant relative of the assassin of US Senator Robert Kennedy, who has the same name. The wanted man is said to be a militant from Tulkarm, affiliated to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Wednesday's raid was focused on several militant strongholds - the Old City, An Najah University and two refugee camps on the outskirts of Nablus. Exiling Arafat The renewed violence is threatening to overshadow a new US diplomatic drive to gain acceptance for an international plan to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The BBC's Jeremy Cooke in Jerusalem says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is under pressure from the Americans to keep things quiet while preparations for war against Iraq continue. He is facing a serious leadership challenge from current Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu vowed to eject Mr Arafat from the Palestinian territories if he is elected prime minister - a challenge which he renewed again on Wednesday at a Security Cabinet meeting. Despite several debates, Mr Netanyahu's opinions have not yet won approval. Mr Sharon ruled out the prospect on Wednesday, saying that Israel's security services "recommended not to do this now because the damage to Israel would be greater than the achievement." Yasser Arafat, meanwhile, responded angrily to Mr Netanyahu. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Well, what are your thoughts?
My thoughts are that the Israeli incursion is the direct result of further terrorist attacks committed by Palestinians. Oh and if they know where the Hamas founder lives...they ought to blow his house to smithereens.
