Report: IDF uproots hundreds of trees near Beit Hanoun

Troops on Wednesday encircled the town with tanks and tore up roads to halt the firing of Qassam rockets that have hit nearby Israeli communities in recent days, killing two Israelis in Sderot.

In the nearby Jabalya refugee camp, IDF soldiers shot and killed a Hamas militant who had ambushed the troops with gunfire and grenades after dark, the militant group said in a statement. An IDF source confirmed the shooting.

A second Palestinian killed Wednesday in the Beit Hanoun raid was 16-year-old Ateya El Ajrami, who was shot as he tried to plant a Palestinian flag in the ground as other youths pelted soldiers with stones, Palestinian witnesses said.

Forces are expected to continue operating in the northern Gaza Strip on and off for the next few months in an effort to prevent Palestinians from firing Qassam rockets into Israel, military sources said Tuesday night.

Military activity in the northern Strip should not actually be seen as one finite operation but rather as a change in the army's method of operations involving ongoing periodic incursions into the area from which the rockets are fired, the sources explained.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said troops would remain near the Beit Hanoun and Jabalya refugee camp areas in northern Gaza for as long as necessary.

"I am sure that after this takeover, the ability to launch Qassams will be diminished," Mofaz said. "We will carry out further operations to damage the infrastructure for manufacturing the rockets and continue operations necessary to prevent the carrying out of the shootings," he added.

Asked how the IDF will deal with the Qassam threat after disengaging from the Gaza Strip, Mofaz replied that a different reality will be created after the withdrawal. "The chances that terror will diminish after the disengagement exist. However, the IDF will retain its freedom of movement," he said.

Infiltration of Karni terminal fails
A Palestinian man opened fire Wednesday afternoon during an attempt to infiltrate the Karni crossing on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported.

Security guards fired at the gunman, who escaped, and the Karni crossing was closed to traffic, according to the report.

Earlier in the day, four Palestinian children were wounded in an explosion that took place in a West Bank village near Hebron, Palestinian sources told the Itim news agency.

The circumstances of the blast, apparently caused by a bomb, were unclear.

Qassams hit Sderot during Sharon visit
Palestinians fired a new barrage of homemade rockets into the southern town of Sderot on Tuesday afternoon while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was visiting the area. Local officials said there were no casualties.

Officials said at least three Qassam rockets landed near Sderot in the second attack, bringing to at least seven the number of rockets to hit the area Tuesday. Two people were wounded by the rocket fire on Tuesday. One moderately wounded man was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.

The attacks came a day after a similar barrage killed two people in Sderot. The victims were Afik Zahavi, age three and a half, and Mordechai Yosepov, 49.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/445843.html