(CNN) Israeli forces pushed into Bethlehem Friday for the first time in six months in a sweep for militants after a Palestinian policeman from the city killed 10 Israelis in a suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus. "The operation was launched after we made clear the Palestinians had not fulfilled their obligations to stop terror, something which was made clear in Thursday's bombing,'' an army spokeswoman said. Troops pulled up to the family home of the bus bomber and told his parents and siblings to leave before engineers arrived to blow the house up. (Reuters/New York Times) Sharon's adviser Dore Gold said Thursday's suicide attack had been planned for weeks and was not in response to Israel's Gaza raid. Gold said the attack underscored the need for physical separation between Israel and the West Bank. "Only the completion of Israel's security fence - which some are trying to stop using the UN and the International Court of Justice - will finally provide security for Israelis against these kinds of attacks," he said.
2004-01-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive