Region | Palestinian Territories

Israeli forces raid West Bank shopping mall

Israeli troops stormed the shopping mall in this West Bank city Tuesday and ordered it to close, saying the popular facility is linked to the militant Islamic Hamas.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 23:04 July 8, 2008
  • Gulf News

Nablus: Israeli troops stormed the shopping mall in this West Bank city Tuesday and ordered it to close, saying the popular facility is linked to the militant Islamic Hamas.

The overnight move was the latest in a widening crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank, even as Israel observes a cease-fire with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Israel kept a vital Gaza cargo crossing open though Palestinians fired three mortar shells at Israel on Tuesday, in violation of the three-week-old truce.

Hamas condemned the Nablus operation as "provocative."

Palestinian witnesses said the troops surrounded the Nablus Mall after midnight, sealing the facility and posting closure orders in shop windows.

"There were dozens of soldiers, lots of jeeps," said Ali Ashur, 28, who owns a cell phone shop.

The five-story mall is one of the most popular spots in Nablus, a city of 135,000 that serves as the West Bank's commercial centre.

The Israeli order, signed by an Israeli general who oversees the West Bank, said the building will be closed on August 15.

"Anyone found in this centre after August 15 will be considered as working on behalf of Hamas and puts himself and his properties in danger," the order said.

However, shops were closed Tuesday to protest the Israeli order. Businesses throughout the city prepared to hold a general strike on Wednesday as well.

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