Palestinian civilians and masked gunmen storm Israeli enclave in Nablus

publiziert: Samstag, 7. Okt 2000 / 15:51 Uhr

Nablus, West Bank - Palestinian gunmen and civilians stormed an Israeli enclave on Saturday, trashing Hebrew texts and setting fire to parts of the compound in a show of triumph, just hours after Israeli troops evacuated the site.

In a sign that the violence was spreading, hundreds of rock-throwing Lebanese protesters tried to break down the Israeli-Lebanese border fence. Israeli troops opened fire, kiling one demonstrator and wounding six, one seriously, Lebanese officials aid.

The predawn evacuation of the enclave in Nablus ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was the first time Israeli relinquished territory as a direct result of Palestinian violence. One Israeli soldier was shot and wounded during the evacuation.

"We consider this a big victory," said Ali Farraj, a local Palestinian leader. "It cost us a lot of blood, and we feel proud of this victory." Six Palestinians and an Israeli border policeman have been killed in a week of daily gun battles at the site.

A top Barak adviser said that Joseph's Tomb was simply not worth holding any longer, and had become a liability.

"The question is, what interest did we ever have there," said Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh. "There was never a political or military or settlement justification to stay in Joseph's Tomb. Over the years, the army has protected a small, marginal group that wanted to use this site as a foothold for settlement in Nablus, that is the honest truth."

An Israeli border policeman bled to death inside the compound last weekend, after Palestinian gunmen barred Israeli medics from reaching the compound for several hours.

Violence across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, sparked by a visit by hard-line opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a Jerusalem shrine holy to Muslims and Jews, has so far claimed 79 lives, most Palestinian. Two Palestinians died early Saturday of injuries sustained in clashes with Israeli soldiers Friday.

In announcing the evacuation, the army said Barak had extracted promises that Palestinian authorities would protect the site, which was home to a Jewish seminary where about 30 students studied during the day. The students have been barred from the site since gun battles began last weekend.

In the tomb area, Palestinian leaders issued calls over megaphones Saturday, urging the civilians to leave. They went unheeded.

Giggling children emerged from the site wearing hats and flak jackets that had been left behind. One group set fire to one of the shacks in the compound and in the domed tomb. Palestinian firemen doused the flames. Palestinian teen-agers climbed atop the tomb and hit it with hammers.

Others ripped apart Hebrew texts. It was unclear if the books were holy writings, but the army acknowledged that the troops had left some sacred Hebrew texts behind.

Some Jews believe the site is the tomb of the biblical patriarch, although most archaeologists ridicule that claim. Some Israelis have denounced Joseph's Tomb as a superfluous provocation.

The trashing of the compound was likely to contribute to Barak's increasing political isolation, and make it harder for him to negotiate a peace deal. Barak was weakened politically by far-reaching proposals he made to Palestinians at the U.S.-sponsored talks at Camp David, in July.

"This is an embarrassing capitulation of the prime minister," said Danny Naveh, a legislator with the opposition Likud party. "It is a surrender to Palestinian violence, and the state of Israel will pay a heavy price for it."

Clashes continued Saturday. In Hebron, the site of another tiny Jewish enclave, troops faced down stonethrowers with rubber bullets, injuring five.

Israeli troops pulled out of Joseph's Tomb before dawn Saturday. Ten border policemen, two army medics and a doctor drove away in armored cars. As they left, shots were fired, and one of the border policemen was injured in the face. The army said it evacuated military equipment, along with the troops, but that the pullout was temporary.

The decision was taken by Barak on the recommendation of his military chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet security service.

The withdrawal could help create the conditions that would allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to order an end to the violence. In its statement, the army said "both sides are committed to save lives and reduce tensions" now that the evacuation has been undertaken.

Sharon said his visit last week to the mosque compound known as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews was to protest Barak's plans to share sovereignty of the site with Palestinians.

In a bid to reduce tensions on Friday, Israeli police relinquished policing of the compound to Palestinian security. At first, that appeared to be a success _ Palestinian officials restrained youths from provoking Israeli forces elsewhere in the walled Old City.

But the sense of triumph led Palestinian youths to firebomb a police station and raise a Palestinian flag over the mosque compound, once site of the ancient Jewish temples.

That led to sharp criticism from members of Barak's shrinking coalition, and in the evening Israeli police commandos raided the site and removed the flag.

(AP)

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