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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Thursday ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to carry out a "wide and extensive operation" in response to an earlier suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem with 11 killed.
Sharon made the order after consultations with senior IDF officials, including hawkish Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
Israeli police said the Palestinian suicide bomber's name was Na'al Azmi Abu Hilayal, who is from the village of al-Khader just south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
A senior Israeli security official earlier said if the suicide bomber came from Bethlehem, the Israeli forces will operate in the West Bank city.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said Israeli tanks had entered the West Bank city just hours after the blast, arresting the suicide bomber's father and brother.
(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2002)
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