A Palestinian girl stands near a house destroyed by the Israeli army

GAZA CITY, January 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Israeli occupation forces maintained their relentless sweep of the Palestinian areas, with more demolitions of houses in the Gaza Strip and arrests of civilians and resistance fighters in the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said on Thursday, January 16.

In the Brazil neighborhood of Rafah refugee camp, the Israeli army bulldozed five houses near the border with Egypt overnight, sources Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that nine other houses were damaged in the process.

In the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun, another three houses were demolished, the sources added. Beit Hanun has often been used as a launching pad for Palestinian fighters firing home-made rockets over the border with Israel.

Meanwhile in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, Israeli forces dynamited a house which allegedly belonged to a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas who was killed a year ago in armed clashes with the Israeli army.

In the southern West Bank near Al-Khalil (Hebron), the Israeli forces also destroyed the house of a Palestinian resistance fighter who blew himself up last April in occupied Jerusalem, killing six Israelis, security sources on both sides said.

The Israeli army has bulldozed or dynamited some 130 houses in the West Bank since August 2002, when it launched its demolition policy which human rights groups have condemned as collective punishment.

However, it has been razing Palestinian houses in Rafah for much longer, creating an ever-widening strip of rubble which serves as a buffer zone between the first row of inhabited houses and Israeli-controlled border posts.

The Israeli army charges that these houses shelter what it called Palestinian militants as well as the entrances to tunnels, which it also claims are used by Palestinians to smuggle arms from Egypt.

In a related development, Israeli occupation forces arrested a Palestinian man armed with an assault rifle and grenades inside the Jewish settlement at Gush Katif in the southern Gaza Strip early Thursday, a military spokesman said.

Elsewhere, eight wanted Palestinian activists were arrested in the West Bank overnight, the army spokesman said.

Washington Frowned

Meanwhile, the United States frowned on Israel's decision to close two Palestinian schools for security, questioning the value of the step.

The State Department reiterated Washington's longstanding support for Israel but said it also wanted the Palestinians to be able to lead their lives with as little disruption as possible.

"We have always recognized Israel's right to take steps that contribute to the peace and security of Israel," spokesman Richard Boucher said. "At the same time, we think they need to consider the consequences of their acts.

"We do believe the Palestinians have the right to live their lives in as normal conditions as possible, and we'd have to question how the closure of the universities contributes to any of those goals."

Boucher said the issue had been "a matter of discussion with the Israeli government" but could not provide details of those contacts.

The Israeli army earlier closed the Islamic University and the Polytechnic Institute in the southern West Bank town of Hebron claiming they were being used by what they called "terrorist organizations for their extremist nationalist and religious activities."

In a related matter, Boucher said a conference on Palestinian reform Tuesday in London had been "positive and constructive" and pledged continuing U.S. support to help the Palestinians transform their governing bodies, although the Palestinian delegation was prevented by Sharon from attending the conference.

Washington had been unsure initially of the value of the meeting given Israel's refusal to allow the Palestinian delegates to participate in person, but Boucher said the talks had made progress on reform.

Sharon still ahead

Meanwhile, less than two weeks before the Israeli legislative elections, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was emerging from scandal yet again unscathed as polls showed him reopening a decisive lead on his Labor rival Amram Mitzna.

Over the past few days, Sharon has reversed the decline of his poll ratings sparked by corruption allegations over a 1.5 million dollar loan received by his sons from a South African businessman to cover up debts run up due to financial improprieties in his 1999 Likud party leadership campaign.

While the dovish Mitzna looked in a good position last week to make a serious challenge to the 74-year-old former general's re-election bid, he failed to take his campaign off the ground while Sharon confirmed his "Teflon" reputation of a politician who survives any scandal.

Three polls published Thursday by the Haaretz, Yediot Aharonot and Maariv dailies credited Sharon with 30 to 34 seats in the next parliament, while Miztna could only muster a meager 19 or 20 mandates.

The polls also hinted that the Labor leader might have alienated potential voters by vowing never to join a coalition led by Sharon.