was declared a closed military zone because an Israeli military officer on patrol near Manger Square was shot dead by a sniper.
24-year old Captain Shachar Shmul from Jerusalem, was shot in the neck and died on the spot close to Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, after he was shot by an apparent Palestinian sniper hiding in a nearby alleyway, reports said.
"Since November last year following a suicide bus bombing in a Jerusalem neighborhood there has been a significant (Israeli Defence Forces) presence in Bethlehem, from where the attack was launched, " said the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).
"But with 11 Israelis killed and 54 wounded in the November blast, the army was prompted to return to the town where it remained throughout the Christmas season," the ICEJ added.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
Palestinian Authority officials have maintained however that the Israeli presence only fuels tensions and that the curfews makes it difficult for Palestinian security forces to arrest alleged terrorists.
Instead, Israeli troops have reportedly rounded up some 240 wanted terrorists in Bethlehem since November, including fifteen potential suicide bombers.
Palestinians suffered as well Wednesday, February 12. In Qalqiliya, Palestinians reported that an eight-year-old boy was killed and six others were wounded during clashes with security forces. The army reportedly said security forces operating in the town shot and wounded three Palestinians who attempted to throw fire-bombs at them.
TANZIM FUGITIVES
Israeli security forces in Nablus also arrested six Tanzim fugitives, at least one of whom military sources say was planning a suicide bomb attack.
An arrest in Samaria led troops to a bag containing eight kilos of explosives, which had been intended for the use of a suicide bomber from the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades arrested last week in Nablus, news reports said.
The arrests came after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz instructed the army to impose a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, until the end of the Muslim Id Al-Adha holiday.
TERRORIST ATTACKS
Israeli army officials have said that the move was needed because of possible terrorist attacks from militants including groups linked to Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks in the United States.
On Tuesday, a man believed to be Osama bin Laden said in a recorded broadcast on the al-Jazeera Arab satellite station that suicide attacks should continue.
He urged Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and defend themselves against a United States attack. United States State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it shows that Iraq and al-Qaida "are bound by a common hatred."
However despite the tape, Germany said Wednesday, February 12, it was not convinced yet there was a clear link between Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror and Iraq. Germany, France and Germany have expressed their opposition to an invasion of Iraq at this time.
