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Israeli Border Guards Kill Three Palestinians Near Gaza
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| The
Israeli army reoccupied the autonomous
West Bank
towns of Jenin, Qalqilya, Beitunia near Ramallah, Bethlehem
& Tulkarem.
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GAZA
CITY, June 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Three Palestinians
were killed by Israeli border guards near the Erez crossing point
between the Gaza Strip and Israel
early Friday morning, June 21, 2002, witnesses said.
One
Palestinian was killed after attacking the guards with a grenade and
an automatic weapon and the other two were killed by Israeli soldiers,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
In
Jenin, a 13-year-old Palestinian child was killed and five members of
his family were injured early Friday when Israeli occupation soldiers
blew up a house close to their home, a Palestinian hospital source
said.
According
to AFP, there were no reports of casualties on the Israeli side.
The
violence flared in Gaza after Israeli tanks rolled into the northern
West Bank town of Nablus.
Thursday
night, June 20, a Palestinian attack reportedly took place on a nearby
illegal Jewish settlement, killing five Israelis.
Jewish
settlements, built on occupied Palestinian land, are considered
illegal under international law and United Nations resolutions, and
are major obstacles in the way of any Mideast peace agreement.
The
Israeli army also continued to occupy five autonomous West Bank towns.
After entering Jenin and Qalqilya Wednesday, June 19, it reoccupied
Beitunia near Ramallah, as well as Bethlehem and Tulkarem.
Meanwhile,
the delay in unveiling President George W. Bush's new Middle East
peace strategy highlights the fragility of U.S. efforts, held hostage
to escalating violence on the ground and internal divisions in the
Bush administration, analysts said Thursday, June 20.
The
uncertainty surrounding the timing of Bush giving his long-anticipated
speech is also providing an opportunity to increase pressure to
influence the U.S. peace proposals.
The
strategy, according to the few hints that have been leaked, would call
for the creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders,
contingent on an end to the so-called anti-Israeli violence and
internal reforms in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Facing
mounting pressure from Israel
and Arab countries, the Bush administration appears to be vacillating
between its staunch support of the Jewish state and its determination
to give Palestinians hope for a political solution.
But
the cycle of attacks and reprisals places Washington in a bind.
For
months, U.S. Middle East policy has led to a tussle pitting the State
Department under Secretary Colin Powell, which favors a new policy
initiative, against the Pentagon (led by Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld) and Vice President Dick Cheney, who favor strong U.S.
support to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the name of the
so-called war against terrorism.
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