PALESTINE - Nov 4 - Women Break Mosque Siege-Hisham Abu Taha.

Palestinian women yesterday broke the Israeli siege of a mosque in Beit Hanoun and helped dozens of fighters holed up there to escape death. In the process, two women were killed and at least 10 of them injured by Israeli gunfire. Israeli soldiers seized Beit Hanoun on Wednesday. The Um Al-Nasr Mosque became the focus of resistance in Beit Hanoun after dozens of fighters sought refuge from troops there on Thursday. Most were members of the armed wing of Hamas. Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers quickly surrounded the building, and the two sides began exchanging fire that lasted throughout Thursday night, Palestinian security officials said. Israeli soldiers trying to force the fighters to surrender threw stun and smoke grenades and knocked down a wall of the mosque with a bulldozer, causing the ceiling to collapse. With sporadic shooting persisting yesterday morning, Hamas radio broadcast a call to women to go to Beit Hanoun to shield the fighters. Dozens of women left their homes to hurry to the mosque, and en route came under Israeli fire. Two women were shot dead and 10 were wounded, witnesses said. By mid-morning, a large group of veiled women protesters gathered outside the mosque, where troops were positioned with tanks and armored personnel carriers. The Israeli Army said the fighters inside the mosque were able to take advantage of the demonstration to escape because there were not enough infantrymen to block the protesters from approaching the building. But live ammunition was fired into the crowd, resulting in the casualties that included a Palestinian cameraman. PM Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas "saluted the women of Palestine... who led the protest to break the siege of Beit Hanoun". Haniyeh urged UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to witness firsthand "the massacres of the Palestinian people", and appealed to the Arab world to help "stop the ongoing bloodshed". A spokesman for Hamas said 32 fighters who had taken cover in the mosque escaped with the help of the women. The spokesman, Abu Obeida, denied reports that the men disguised themselves as women to escape. In the West Bank town of Ramallah, the Palestinian public works and housing minister in the Hamas-led government was arrested by Israeli troops. Abdelrahman Zidane, 46, was arrested at dawn from his home, Palestinian sources said.