Israel Increasing West Bank Forces
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army said Tuesday that it is increasing its forces in the occupied West Bank by 20%, deploying more regular soldiers and special units to try to halt a wave of ambushes of Jewish settlers.
The army would not disclose the exact number of soldiers being sent to the West Bank or the number already deployed there.
The move follows demands by settlers for more protection and tougher treatment of Arab militants. It also comes amid a political crisis in which Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s coalition has lost its parliamentary majority because of defections by far-right leaders who are the settlers’ main backers.
The troops are going to an increasingly tense area strained by the 4-year-old Palestinian uprising and an increase in armed attacks on Jewish settlers by Arabs opposed to the Mideast peace talks.
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