DATE=03/13/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-287489

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (S)

BYLINE=MICHAEL DRUDGE

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The Israeli military is consolidating its grip on the West Bank city of Ramallah, a day after more than 30 Palestinians were killed in a major offensive in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Among the latest victims of the fighting is an Italian photojournalist. V-O-A's Michael Drudge has more from Jerusalem.

TEXT: The Israeli military is pressing its search for weapons and terrorists in Ramallah. Sporadic fighting continues.

Palestinian doctors say Israeli tank fired killed an Italian freelance photographer Wednesday. He is identified as Raffaele Ciriello.

According to Israeli television, about 20 thousand Israeli troops have taken part in the sweep that began Tuesday in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. That makes it the biggest Israeli military operation since the Palestinian uprising began a year-and-a-half ago.

More than 150 Israeli tanks have penetrated Ramallah, which is the main commercial center in the West Bank, and a headquarters for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Israel says Ramallah also has become the center of terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. (Signed).

NEB/MWD/GE