Israel Rounds Up Hamas Politicians

Israeli forces arrested more than 60 Hamas politicians in the West Bank and bombed targets in the Gaza Strip today to increase pressure on Palestinian militants to release an Israeli soldier held captive since Sunday.

There were no casualties in the Israeli attacks but a confrontation between the army and Palestinian factions became more likely as Israeli forces prepared to enter areas of northern Gaza.

Israel reoccupied areas of southern Gaza yesterday and bombed bridges and an electricity plant to force Palestinian militants to free the abducted soldier. The electricity supply for half of Gaza has been cut and all supplies of fuel and food have been halted.

Palestinian fighters have prepared bombs and barricades in anticipation of the army's advance into populated areas.
Corporal Gilad Shilat was captured by gunmen from Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees on Sunday. His captors want to exchange him for Palestinian prisoners but Israel insists it will not negotiate for the freedom of the 19-year-old.

After a separate kidnapping, soldiers discovered the body of Eliyahu Asheri, 18, in a shallow grave near Ramallah. He was abducted on Sunday as he hitchhiked through the West Bank.

Militants of the Popular Resistance Committees involved in the kidnapping of Corp Shilat said Asheri would be killed if Israel did not halt its invasion of Gaza. The Israeli army said he was probably killed soon after his abduction.

Israel broadened its attack on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to the West Bank, where it arrested 64 Hamas members, including ministers, mayors and legislators.

The arrests make it very difficult for the group to participate in government in the West Bank. Hamas won the January elections and formed a government which has been plagued by internal opposition and an international boycott. Israel said it intended to arrest other prominent Hamas members. An army spokeswoman said Israel views all Hamas members as terrorists and intended to treat them as such.

"We came to understand there is no other way to treat them," she said. "They regularly plan and carry out acts of terror against Israel so we decided to arrest these high-ranking terrorists."

In Gaza there was an uneasy calm as Israeli aircraft and forces operated without harming anyone. Missiles were fired at buildings, roads and open fields, but ground forces made no attempt to enter built-up areas. The navy patrolled the coast and banned fishing boats from putting out to sea.

Leaflets were dropped in northern Gaza warning residents that Israeli forces planned to enter the area.

An army spokeswoman said all military activity was designed to make it difficult to move the kidnapped soldier and to prevent the firing of Qassam rockets at Israel.

She said the leaflets were dropped to advise Gazans to be careful when the Israeli army enters. "We don't want any innocent civilians to be hurt," she said.

Israeli jets also buzzed the seaside palace of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. One Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, is based in Damascus. Israel believes he was the instigator of the attack on Sunday that led to the kidnapping.