|
Israel Strikes West Bank and Gaza, as Arafat and Peres Meet
GAZA CITY, Nov 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli military forces intensified their military strikes on Palestinian towns Saturday, as Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met in Spain.
Four Palestinian homes were destroyed in the southern Gaza Strip during two separate Israeli military strikes before dawn Saturday, Palestinian security sources said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Sources said Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered dozens of meters (yards) into Palestinian-ruled territory in Rafah on the border with Egypt, firing heavy machine-guns and destroying homes owned by brothers Raad and Sami Yunes. Israel gave no reason for attacking the homes, the sources added.
In Khan Yunis, just north of Rafah, two homes caught fire and were badly burned when they were hit by illumination grenades fired by the Israeli army, sources said.
No one was reported hurt in those incidents, but a Palestinian boy was shot and wounded in the hand when Israeli forces opened fire south of Gaza City Friday night, security sources added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army reinforced its siege on the self-governed Palestinian sector of Ramallah Saturday, AFP reported. Military bulldozers cut access off to a road located to the east of the Palestinian area.
Israeli tanks also moved into new positions near the Jellazun refugee camp to the north of Ramallah, preventing refugees from walking into the area. Within the northern sector of the same area, Israeli soldiers blocked the entrances to several buildings, residents told AFP.
Ramallah-El-Bireh is one of the five Palestinian-governed towns in the West Bank that was reoccupied by Israeli tanks and troops following the Oct. 17 assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat met Saturday with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for the second time in 24 hours at a regional economic forum on the Spanish island of Majorca, a Spanish official said.
The two men met in the manager's office of the Hotel Formentor in the presence of the chairman of Spanish oil company Repsol, Alfonso Cortina, a government spokesman said.
Peres and Arafat are due to take part in roundtable discussions at the forum later in the day in the town of Formentor, which is also being attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Maria Aznar.
Peres and Arafat also met briefly Friday at a forum dinner, but there is no indication that any substantive discussions have taken place.
There has been intense diplomatic pressure on the two leaders to broker a new ceasefire agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Before his arrival in Spain, Peres made it clear that he was prepared to meet with Arafat, but he would not negotiate.
Before the Formentor meeting, Peres and Arafat last met at the Gaza airport on Sept. 26, when they agreed to a ceasefire that quickly collapsed.
European Union Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos said even without a one-on-one meeting, the conference gave Peres and Arafat an opportunity to conduct a dialogue to "move forward the peace process."
|
