'Terrorism' charges fly as tanks raid Jericho

With the world's eyes on America, the Israeli army swept into the ancient city of Jericho in darkness yesterday in an unexpected raid on one of the quieter places of the intifada.

As helicopter gunships hovered, tanks trundled deep into Palestinian-controlled territory in the early hours – past Jericho's once-thriving but now shut casino and down the main street, under fire from guerrillas hidden in houses wielding Kalashnikovs. There was a similar invasion – the second in two days – on Jenin, a hotbed of anti-Israeli sentiment in the West Bank, where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in another night of fighting.

The twin raids, which ended some hours later with an Israeli withdrawal, led to fresh accusations from Palestinian officials that Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, is exploiting the mayhem in America to step up pressure on the Palestinians, knowing that attention has switched elsewhere.

The Israeli army, which declared Jericho to be a "closed military area" yesterday, refused to say much about its activities, in which at least one home was hit by a tank shell.

In all, 13 Palestinians were reported by Palestinian officials to be injured, one critically, and at least a dozen Palestinians have been killed in the past three days in these raids. An Israeli woman was also shot dead by Palestinian guerrillas on the West Bank on Wednesday in a drive-by attack.

The invasion of Jericho came amid new signs that Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, Israel's Foreign Minister, are to hold talks on securing a truce, which may take place as early as Sunday. But the landscape has changed – it is clear that the prospects for negotiations will be affected by the fall-out from the catastrophe in America, which has been particularly damaging to the Palestinians. Right-wing opposition in Israel to talking to the Palestinians is likely to grow.

The massive attack on America is bringing out ugly elements from both sides as they seek to use it to their own ends. According to Israel Radio, Mr Sharon called Yasser Arafat "our [Osama] bin Laden" in talks with Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State.

The Palestinians have behaved little better. The Foreign Press Association in Israel condemned harassment of journalists by the Palestinian Authority, saying that police and gunmen tried to stop photo and video coverage of a rally on Tuesday in Nablus as Palestinians celebrated the attacks in America. Meanwhile, Palestinian ministers accusing Israel yesterday of committing "terrorism" by sending tanks into Jericho and Jenin.