Gov't angry at IDF over Ramallah operation

Senior state officials attacked the IDF and Shin Bet Thursday evening after a botched arrest attempt in Ramallah led to the deaths of six Palestinian.

The operation was carried out a mere hour before the meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh and caused considerable embarrassment.

The joint press conference held by Olmert and Mubarak was also tense and both leaders commented on the operation – Mubarak condemned it and Olmert apologized.

State officials told Ynet Thursday evening that Head of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh did not update the Minister of Defense or political echelon about the army's intention to carry out an operation in central Ramallah on a crucial political day.

"Naveh carried out the operation without informing the necessary levels and did something very grave."

Ramallah on Thursday (Photo: Reuters)

Military sources told Ynet that the operation in question was a routine arrest operation.

"Arrests are carried out almost daily in Judea and Samaria and this was an operation against senior wanted men who were involved in planning a terror attack inside Israel," said the sources, adding that there was an opportunity to carry out the arrest which had to be taken.

Six dead, soldiers wounded

Palestinian sources said that the four Palestinians who were arrested in the Ramallah operation by the IDF have already been released. The four, according to reports, are civilians and security officers, were caught in the building where IDF troops and al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades gunmen engaged each other.

Four civilians were killed and 18 were wounded in the operation. The death toll rose to six after two Palestinians who were critically wounded in the operation died of their wounds in the Ramallah hospital. Their identities remain unclear.

Palestinian sources said that among the wounded is a wanted senior member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades named Raviyeh Hamed who was severely wounded in the crossfire. Four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the operation, of which one was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

Evacuating the wounded (Photo: AP)

The confrontations developed during the operation of a special IDF force in the city. A special IDF force surrounded a building in Ramallah in which wanted Palestinians were hiding. During the operation, the force identified a wanted man who intended to shoot at the soldiers.

The soldiers shot and wounded him, but he managed to escape.

The IDF reported that during the operation, four wanted Palestinians were arrested, who were subsequently transferred to the security forces for investigation. There were disturbances on site, which included gun battles and stone-throwing.

According to the Palestinians, some of the injured are youths who threw stones at the IDF forces. Palestinians also alleged that the IDF prevented ambulances from approaching the area.

After the operation concluded, masses of people took to the streets in protest.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas harshly condemned the operation, saying it ''proved that the Israeli calls for peace and security are insincere.''

In a written statement issued in the afternoon Abbas said: "The continued aggression will only lead to the destruction of all efforts aimed at realizing peace."

Efrat Weiss contributed to the report