arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

The Israeli occupation forces' raid on the West Bank town of Jenin and its refugee camp continued. Palestinian sources say that two handicapped men were arrested by the Israeli army on their way to the hospital.

In Tulkarm today, 16-year-old Ahmed A'neis was killed by Israeli forces during a clash between Palestinian stone-throwers and the Israeli army. A'neis was gunned down near the entrance of the West Bank town, medical sources said.

The boy's death came less than a day after the assassination of two Palestinian activists in the town of Nablus, and the shooting death of a Jenin boy.

Jenin, still under a strict curfew, is enduring the worst confrontation between the occupation army and Palestinian fighters. The Israeli army raided Jenin a few days after a suicide bomber blew himself up in Hadera near an army bus, killing and wounding many.

The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA said Monday that two patients were arrested by the Israeli army from a Palestinian ambulance while on its way to the Jenin Hospital.

Bassam Jarar, an amputee, and Mohamed Asasah, a blind man, are both in their fifties and where taken to the emergency room for treatment, WAFA reported. The Israeli army is yet to comment on the arrests.

Four homes in Jenin were reportedly bulldozed or detonated by the Israeli army, Palestinian sources report. One of these homes belongs to the family of a suicide bomber, who killed 14 in Hadera a few days ago. Israel said the home demolishing was a "message" to the Palestinians.

More homes were demolished during an Israeli army incursion in the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. At least 14 tanks and two bulldozers raided a Palestinian neighborhood in Rafah, amidst heavy firing, Al-Jazeera satellite television in Qatar reported.

Palestinian eyewitnesses say at least six homes were destroyed before the Israeli forces pulled back to their original positions.

The Israeli army has also shelled Palestinian targets in Nablus, Palestinian sources said. Meanwhile, arrest raids were reported in the villages of Bani Nai'm, Ya'bid, and al-Khader in the West Bank.