Mideast - AFP
Israel imposes lockdown on Palestinians amid fears of Passover attack
Date: Tue, Apr 06, 2004
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli security services were on high alert on the first full day of the week-long Passover holiday with a lockdown imposed on Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites).
Intelligence services fear that Palestinian militant groups, who have already vowed to exact revenge for last month's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, will try and mark the holiday with a spectacular attack.
A Hamas suicide attack, the worst in Israel's history, claimed 30 victims on Passover two years ago in the coastal town of Netanya, and triggered the army's devastating "Operation Defensive Shield" in the West Bank.
An army spokeswoman confirmed that there had been no reports of any attacks or attempted attacks since the start of the festival on Monday night that most Israelis marked with a traditional Seder feast.
Israeli forces did uncover and destroy a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip overnight which they say was used to smuggle weapons in from under the border with Egypt.
The eight-meter (26-foot) deep tunnel was caved in by a controlled explosion after it was discovered in fields outside the town of Rafah.
Previous operations to destroy tunnels in the town itself have often led to armed clashes but Palestinian and Israeli sources said there had been no violence this time.
The army said it was the seventh tunnel to be uncovered since the beginning of the year.
Rafah has been the scene of some of the deadliest violence in the course of the Palestinian intifada, with Israeli troops carrying out frequent operations to uncover the weapons tunnels.
There has been no sign of a let-up in Israeli operations in Gaza since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) announced his intention two months ago to evacuate the Jewish settlements in the territory as part of a wider "disengagement" plan.
Sharon has argued that he has no option but to implement unilateral measures in the absense of progress in the bilateral peace process with the Palestinians.
But he has also vowed not to move ahead with his project without the backing of Washington which has so far withheld its seal of approval.
However, one of the most senior American diplomats in the region, US Ambassador to Egypt David Welch, said late Monday that the Israeli withdrawal could be the key to relaunching the stalled Middle East peace process.
"If there is an Israeli government decision to withdraw from some places, perhaps that's the key to unlock the process," Welch said in an interview broadcast on Nile TV.
"Who wants to stand in the way of withdrawal?" he asked.
Palestinian premier Ahmed Qorei arrived in Cairo for medical tests on Monday night after suffering a mini-stroke last week. Officials there said he met President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) on Tuesday to discuss the peace process.
SOURCE
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