At least 15 wounded during anti-fence protest

By Arnon Regular, Amos Harel and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents and AP

Some 15 Palestinians, a number of police officers and an Israel Defense Forces officer were wounded Wednesday morning in clashes during a protest against the construction of the separation barrier in the West Bank village of Budrus located near Modi’in.

Palestinians reported five of the casualties suffered head wounds, including a small boy. The IDF officer and a number of police officers were lightly wounded by Palestinian stone throwers.

The clashes broke out after dozens of Palestinians and Israeli left-wing activists demonstrated against construction of the barrier. The protestors began throwing stones at security forces, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Troops thwart attack near Erez
Israel Defense Forces troops thwarted a terror attack Wednesday morning inside Israel near the northern Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported.

A Palestinian terrorist carrying a bomb attempted to approach the fence surrounding Kibbutz Erez under cover of heavy morning fog.

Soldiers from a combat engineering unit who spotted the Palestinian opened fire and killed him.

Islamic Jihad identified the dead man as one of its members.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile at the Rafiah Yam settlement on Wednesday morning. There were no casualties and IDF troops returned fire.

IDF troops opened fire on two armed Palestinians spotted near an army outpost adjacent to the Neveh Dekalim settlement in the Gush Katif area of Gaza. Troops verified the armed men were hit but were unable to determine the extent of their wounds. The wounded militants were evacuated from the scene by other Palestinians.

Palestinians fire mortar at Jewish settlement in northern Gaza
Palestinians fired a mortar Wednesday morning at a Jewish settlement in northern Gaza. According to reports, IDF troops fired back There were no casualties or damage reported.

In a seperate incident in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired gunshots at a convoy of civilian vehicles. The IDF force accompanying the convoy shot back at the gunmen. No casualties or damage were reported.

In the West Bank, security forces arrested 15 wanted Palestinian terror suspects overnight in Hebron, including nine from Hamas. Five other wanted men were arrested in other locations around the West Bank.

Palestinian militants opened fire overnight on IDF troops in Jenin a number of times. There were no casualties and no damage caused.

IDF places Ramallah under closure
The IDF placed the West Bank city of Ramallah under closure on Tuesday evening, Army Radio reported. Troops were reportedly carrying out searches in the city, where Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has been confined in his offices for over two years.

Earlier Tuesday, police called off an alert that had been in effect along the Green Line around Rosh Ha’ayin. Forces went on alert after receiving warnings that a terrorist was planning to carry out an attack in the area.

Police set up roadblocks in the Triangle area of the north, Rosh Ha’ayin, Kafr Qassam, Shoham and Petah Tikva following the warnings. Roadblocks were set up on Route 6, the Trans-Israel Highway, and Route 5, the trans-Samaria highway and forces were beefed up at the entrance to cities and towns in the Sharon-area of the country.

The alert was lowered later Tuesday evening, and the roadblocks were removed.

Also Tuesday, IDF troops in Jenin arrested Abdel Rahman Zubeidi, the brother of Tanzim commander Zakariya Zubeidi. According to Palestinian sources reported that the leading militant’s brother is not involved in terrorism but was nevertheless arrested by Israel in order to place pressure on Zakariya Zubeidi. Two of Zubeidi’s cousins were also arrested.

Four Qassams land in Israel
Palestinians fired four Qassam rockets at Sderot and into an open area in the western Negev region on Tuesday morning. The rockets were launched from the Beit Hanun area of the northern Gaza Strip. There were no casualties and no damage was caused.

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