Israel defends action in Hebron

A Palestinian mother directs her daughter to shelter during firing in Hebron Thursday.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli army officials said Friday the army has no intention of reoccupying Palestinian-controlled towns in the West Bank after troops briefly entered Palestinian-controlled parts of Hebron late Thursday.

A Palestinian official said the move was an attempt to provoke a reaction from Palestinians that would justify more "aggression by Israel."

The Israeli army said the attacks were in response to a Palestinian attack earlier Thursday that seriously wounded an 11-year-old boy.

Israeli Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said the troops could return on a more permanent basis if shooting from the Abu Sneineh neighborhood of Hebron does not stop.

Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships shelled buildings in Palestinian-controlled sectors of Hebron, injuring as many as five Palestinians, Palestinian sources said.

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The Israeli army said it decided to enter the area to destroy two specific buildings where they said Palestinians launched assaults on Israelis.

Palestinian police said the Israeli military went about 800 meters into Abu Sneineh and the nearby Wadi al-Hariyeh sectors.

"Israel did not want to retake Abu Sneineh, but wished to direct its fire and its activity against those locations which were being used against Israeli children living below," said Dore Gold, adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Israel did what it had to do and left Abu Sneineh."

Palestinians celebrated in the streets of Hebron, saying they had forced Israeli troops out. However, Israeli army officials said the troops never intended to stay after they carried out the mission.

Twelve Israeli tanks, six bulldozers and helicopter gunships participated in the attacks, the Palestinian police said. The tanks shelled buildings, while helicopter gunships fired from overhead.

There were conflicting reports on casualties from Palestinian sources.

Palestinian police said three Palestinians were wounded; one seriously. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Friday morning that five Palestinians were seriously hurt in the incursion.

"It seems to me that these continued attacks against Area A and continued assassinations against Palestinian activists and all the other provocative measures taken by Israel, they seek a Palestinian action which will justify a wide plan of aggression by Israel against the Palestinians," said Palestinian Council member Ziad Abu Ziad.

A Palestinian police officer carries a license plate from a car hit by Israeli missiles in Nablus Thursday.

The attacks came at the end of another chaotic day in the region.

In the incident that Israel said prompted it to enter Palestinian-controlled sectors in Hebron, two Israeli children -- an 11-year-old boy and his older brother -- were injured by gunfire from Palestinians in Hebron, according to Israeli security officials. The 11-year-old suffered serious wounds.

-- CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.