Your letter http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/12/international/middleeast/12MIDE.html March 12, 2002 The New York Times At Least 17 Are Killed in Israeli Raid at Palestinian Camp in Gaza By SERGE SCHMEMANN JERUSALEM, Tuesday, March 12 — The Israeli sweep through Palestinian refugee camps reached into the teeming Jabaliya camp in Gaza overnight, and Palestinians said at least 17 residents were killed and scores were injured trying to block the tanks and armored personnel carriers in the predawn darkness. Tanks also rumbled into Ramallah, where residents said sounds of battle were heard from the Amari refugee camp. The latest incursions followed a day in which refugee camps in Bethlehem and Qalqilya were raided and searched. The operation, which began March 1 and has included dragnets through camps in Jenin, Nablus and the Gaza Strip, is by far the largest Israeli military operation against the Palestinians since the Oslo agreements of 1993 gave the Palestinians control over some of their lands. The escalation of the raids came even as anticipation grew of a new American push for a cease-fire. In a gesture intended to demonstrate his readiness to cooperate in the upcoming mission of Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, the American envoy to the Middle East, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced on Monday that the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, was free to resume traveling about the West Bank and Gaza, although not abroad. Mr. Sharon has repeatedly vowed to continue the military campaign against the Palestinian Authority, following his declaration last week that only a heavy death toll would bring the Palestinians to the table. The primary target has been the refugee camps, which were set up in 1948 for people displaced by the Arab-Israeli wars and have swelled into crowded slums seething with resentment against Israel. There are 19 such camps in the West Bank, eight in the Gaza Strip and dozens in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where the population has swelled to 3.8 million, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is charged with providing services to the refugees. Of all of these, Jabaliya, north of Gaza City, is the largest, and it is there that Hamas, the militant Islamic movement, has its strongest base. Details of the latest raids were not yet available. But the pattern in earlier operations has been for Israeli troops in full battle gear, backed by tanks, armored personnel carriers and Apache attack helicopters, to sweep through the narrow streets, rounding up hundreds of men for questioning and smashing into houses to conduct searches for weapons and bomb workshops. Dr. Muawia Hassami, director of emergency services at the Ashifa Hospital in Gaza City, reported 17 dead and 45 injured as of 2 a.m. "We are working to full capacity in 12 operating rooms," he said. Israeli gunfire killed five Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza during the day Monday, and a Palestinian security officer was killed by Israeli fire in southern Gaza on Monday night at the same time the fighting was taking place at Jebaliya, The Associated Press reported. In the Dheisheh camp on the edge of Bethlehem, and in Qalqilya on Monday, Israeli troops ordered all males ages 15 to 45 to present themselves. In Bethlehem, several hundred men were assembled in a stone- cutting factory; in Qalqilya at a central school. There, plainclothes intelligence officers questioned them, releasing some immediately and taking others, often handcuffed and blindfolded, to military camps. The army said it had no figures on the detentions, though radio reports said more than 1,000 men were rounded up. In the only sweep for which figures have been made available, in Tulkarm last week, 66 men remain in detention of about 500 rounded up. Palestinians said that in anticipation of the latest raids, most of the men wanted by Israel had left the camps. Following reports that some of the detainees had identity numbers written on their arms in ink, Mr. Arafat accused Israeli troops of "new Nazi racism." In an interview with Abu Dhabi television, portions of which were shown on Israeli television, Mr. Arafat said, referring to the identity numbers: "Is that not what they say the Nazis did to the Jews? What do they have to say about this matter?" An Israeli Army spokeswoman said, "This is an obscene and absurd statement which hardly warrants further response." The announcement that Mr. Arafat was free to travel in his territories drew ire from Palestinian officials. "It's ridiculous and disgusting," said Yasir Abed Rabbo, the Palestinians minister of information. "Technically, there is no place to land his helicopter — if he had any helicopter left. Politically, it's just another game they are playing. They want to contain the American proposals and ideals." Mr. Sharon, he said, "is playing with fire and blood. He is not serious." The open question is whether Israel will allow Mr. Arafat to attend an Arab League summit meeting in Beirut on March 27. There, a Saudi proposal to promise Israel full normalization of relations with Arab countries, in exchange for a withdrawal from territories it occupied, will be brought before all 22 Arab leaders. Last week, Mr. Sharon lifted one major obstacle to a formal cease-fire when he agreed to abandon his demand for seven days of calm before entering into negotiations on the American plan for a halt to hostilities. American and Israeli officials in Washington acknowledged privately that they had put strong pressure on Mr. Sharon to do so. But the United States appeared less interested in Mr. Arafat's mobility. "We think the Israelis should take a careful look at this question of Mr. Arafat's travel and determine what's in their interests," a State Department spokesman said. Despite the continued military operations in the Palestinian territories and constant threats of Palestinian terror attacks, both sides looked forward anxiously to the arrival of General Zinni, a retired marine. A suggestion by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell that General Zinni would be coming with monitors aroused curiosity, since the Israelis have generally opposed the idea of international observers to monitor a cease-fire. A Foreign Ministry official said he thought the reference was to assistants who would join General Zinni in keeping track of developments, not formal monitors. Right-wing Israelis packed into Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Monday evening to demonstrate in favor of more decisive military action against the Palestinians. Crowd estimates varied from 30,000 to double that. Demonstrators carried banners saying "Get the Enemies Out of the Country" and "Sharon, learn to fight like George Bush — Bomb them!" and other messages urging Mr. Sharon to topple the Palestinian Authority. The speakers included retired Brig. Gen. Effir Eitam, who appealed to Mr. Sharon, "From here we embrace you, we encourage you, we call you to rise and be the Lion of Judah, and the people will follow." Security was extraordinary, with 1,600 uniformed police officers and soldiers checking everyone who entered the square.