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¡¡¡¡GAZA, May 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The Israeli army supported by tanks, armored vihecles and helicopter gunships, escalated its military actions in the Palestinian territories and reoccupied two major cities in the West Bank Monday, Palestinian residents and security sources reported.

¡¡¡¡Residents said the Israeli army entered the West Bank town of Bethlehem in the morning for the second time within the last three days. The army imposed curfew and started raiding houses in search of wanted Palestinians.

¡¡¡¡Dozens of infantry troops besieged again the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, according to Voice of Palestine. The radio said Israeli troops surrounded the church in fear that any Palestinian militants would re-enter the basilica after a protracted standoff ended there earlier in the month.

¡¡¡¡The radio said that Israeli troops drove into the adjacent Manger Square, blocking off access to the church complex, while witnesses said dozens of jeeps and armored vehicles rolled into thetown and the neighboring Deheisha refugee camp.

¡¡¡¡Israeli army also imposed curfew on the neighborhoods of Ta'amra, where they arrested dozens of Palestinians, including several members of the Fatah and Hamas movements.

¡¡¡¡In Deheisha, Israeli troops arrested a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The captive was believed to be one of the most wanted Palestinian fugitives in the area for involvement in a number of attacks in the Jerusalem area.

¡¡¡¡Palestinian security said that Israeli troops also maintained a military operation in another West Bank town of Qalqilyah as part of the army raids following four suicide bomb attacks last week in Israel.

¡¡¡¡Medical sources in the town said that two 10-year-old twin-sisters were moderately injured by shrapnel of shells fired by Israeli troops on residential areas. Enditem

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