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Israeli Helicopters Raid Gaza Strip After Zinni, Sharon Meet
GAZA CITY, Dec. 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli helicopters attacked Palestinian security positions in the northern Gaza strip overnight Monday, Palestinian officials said.
The officials said the target of the raid was a base of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's elite Force 17 guard located between the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Two U.S.-made Apache helicopters fired four missiles at the Force 17 building in Beit Hanoun, causing heavy damage. One of the missiles struck an electric line, causing a power outage throughout the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli daily newspaper,
Ha'aretz reported.
The building was wrecked. Tiles, pieces of concrete, metal, furniture and bedding were strewn across the ground by the force of the blast. No casualties were reported.
Four mortar bombs were fired today at an Israeli settlement in the central Gaza Strip, in which an Israeli girl was lightly wounded," the Israeli army said in a statement. "In response, the army struck tonight a Force 17 building."
"The Israeli army will continue to use all available means to assure the security of Israeli troops and civilians," an Israeli military spokesman said.
An aide to Arafat, Nabil Abu Rudeina, slammed the continued raids on Gaza.
"It is a dangerous escalation which undermines all the efforts of America and the international community to bring a ceasefire and restart the peace process," he said.
He said the raids were also "proof that Israel wants to sabotage the mission of [U.S. envoy] Anthony Zinni."
"The Americans and the international community must take their responsibilities and stop these attacks. This Israeli policy risks dragging the entire region towards violence and instability."
In another incident, two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers Tuesday while traveling in their car near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem, Israeli public radio reported quoting military officials.
A military doctor confirmed the men were dead according to the radio report, which added that no weapons or explosives were found in their vehicle. It said the military was investigating the incident.
A Palestinian witness from a village close to the checkpoint gave a different account. Rajla Khalil, a resident of the nearby Jaroushiyeh village, said she saw troops chase two men into an olive grove on foot and then heard gunshots,
Ha'aretz reported.
"We left the house and saw two men running towards an olive grove and soldiers following them on foot. After a while we heard more shots and we saw the soldiers dragging one of the men and carrying the other man," she said.
Their deaths bring to 1,067 the number of people killed since the start of al-Aqsa uprising, or Intifada, in September 2000. The death toll includes 821 Palestinians - the majority of them women and children - and 223 Israelis.
Elsewhere on Monday, exchanges of gunfire were reported at the Erez border crossing at the north of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said.
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