described as "a well-planned, multi-stage ambush" in the center of Jenin’s refugee camp, as smoke could still be seen above Jesus’ birthplace, Bethlehem.
The gunmen detonated a number of bombs alongside the reservists, killing a number of them outright, The Jerusalem Post reported. Palestinians located on surrounding rooftops and other high positions subsequently opened fire on the Israeli force, army officials said.
Israel Radio reported that a number of soldiers were also killed when Palestinians detonated an additional bomb, collapsing a building on the troops. Shortly thereafter, naval commandos sent in to rescue the troops also came under a "withering barrage of gunfire and bombs," said The Jerusalem Post, citing military sources.
FIGHTING CONTINUES
An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman told the newspaper that seven reservists were also wounded in the ambush attack, with one soldier listed in critical condition. Despite the set-back, the Israeli seems ready to fight until the Jenin camp submits, the Voice of America (VOA) said, with Palestinians determined to hold out.
VOA quoted Palestinian officials as saying that more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the Jenin camp over the last week, and that there "have been heavy casualties elsewhere." Meanwhile in nearby Bethlehem, the standoff at the landmark Church of the Nativity continued as Israeli forces were trying to wait out some 200 armed Palestinian gunmen inside.
The well informed International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) said 40 Christian clerics and laymen were held as as hostages. It reported that Palestinian gunmen inside the church have been firing fired shots and throwing grenades at Israeli forces in Bethlehem, but it was difficult to verify those claims.
CHURCH FIRE
Television footage showed that Israeli soldiers allowed fire-fighters to put out a fire that ignited in the offices of the Franciscan order within the church compound, which the ICEJ said was due to Palestinian gunfire. There is also concern about the situation of the students and teachers at Bethlehem Bible College and other Christians trapped inside the troubled town.
As the battles raged around Bethlehem, United States Secretary Colin Powell was expected to arrive in the region shortly, amid growing tensions between Jerusalem and Washington over the Israeli offensive in Palestinian territories.
On Monday, April 8, US President George W. Bush said that Israel should withdraw its forces "without delay" from Palestinians territories. But Israeli Prime Minister Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday, April 9, that the military offensive in the West Bank will continue till his country has destroyed what he called "the infrastructure of Palestinian terror groups."
