ARABS-ISRAEL - Aug. 24 - Hebron Incursion.

At midnight, Israeli tanks roll deep into PA-ruled sectors of Hebron, taking control of Abu Sneina hill used for months by Palestinian gunmen to fire on the Jews living below. (The deepest incursion in the 11 months of violence comes after the gunmen on Aug. 23 wounded Zviel and Matanel Meshulam, 11 and 21, as they stood on the balcony of their house). The army knock down two houses described as snipers' nests in Abu Sneina neighbourhood. Five Palestinians are wounded, one seriously, as is one Israeli soldier. After about two hours Israeli troops withdrew. David Wilder, a spokesman for Hebron's Jewish community (about 500 settlers live among 120,000 Palestinians), said: "It was much too little and much too late, and we hope there will be follow-up". Another settler spokesman, Noam Arnon, said that by not remaining on the Abu Sneina hill, the army had given up a chance to have "prevented the next shooting". He added: "Tomorrow, or even today, the terrorists will come again and shoot". The Army's Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon told Israel's radio: "If indeed the situation becomes intolerable, we may have to stay up there to ensure absolutely that there is no shooting from the hill". As the Army pulled out of Hebron in the morning of Aug. 24, Palestinian gunfire damaged several Israeli jeeps, prompting the newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida to proclaim on its front page that "the resistance was able to defeat the aggressors after a vicious battle". Hours after the Israeli raid, Palestinians in Abu Sneina stood defiantly on the rubble of one of the demolished houses, where they planted Hamas and Hizbollah flags. Brig. Gen. Gershon Yitzhak, who heads the army forces in Hebron, said: "We did exactly what we'd planned, and left. I wouldn't describe the Palestinian behaviour as real fighting". Later in the day, the streets of Hebron that continue to be under Israeli control were deserted.