DATE=04/04/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS (SHORT)

NUMBER=2-

BYLINE= ROSS DUNN

DATELINE=

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Israeli troops, backed by tanks, engaged in heavy fighting as they took over the West Bank city of Nablus today (Thursday). Palestinian leaders have called on the people to prepare for a long fight against the Israeli offensive. Ross Dunn in Jerusalem has more on the story.

TEXT: Palestinian witnesses say that dozens of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles rolled into Nablus. The Israelis encountered fierce resistance from some residents.

Gun-battles have erupted between soldiers and Palestinians who are refusing to surrender to the Israeli troops.

Nablus is biggest city in the West Bank and one also one of the strongest areas of Palestinian resistance.

Israeli soldiers have encircled at least three adjacent Palestinian refugee camps. The Israeli offensive began last week, in an effort to halt a series of suicide bombing attacks in Israel by Palestinians.

As the tanks moved in, the Palestinian Authority issued a statement calling on the Palestinian people to "close ranks in a long-term struggle" against what it described as an "unjust and criminal war". (Signed)

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