GAZA CITY, February 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In what seems the first violation of its newly-minted pledges to halt violence against Palestinians, Israeli occupation forces killed two Palestinians over the past 24 hours, triggering retaliation from the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Dampening recent optimism, trigger-happy Israeli soldiers opened fire and instantly killed a Palestinian driving a vehicle in the West Bank overnight, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The victim, from the West Bank town of Salfit, was hit by the gunfire and the vehicle then rolled over at speed.

The Israeli army, however, claimed Thursday, February 10, that the Palestinian man had failed to stop at one of its countless roadblocks north of Ramallah.

In another sign of continued hair-trigger tension, a Palestinian died Wednesday after he was hit by gunfire from a Gaza Jewish settlement, reported Reuters, quoting medical sources.

The 20-year-old Palestinian from Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza was shot from the nearby Atzmona settlement, which has an Israeli army garrison.

An Israeli military source claimed troops had fired warning shots, suspecting an infiltration attempt, when four Palestinians came within 50 meters of a security fence near the Jewish settlement. The source said the Palestinians fled.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas separately announced Tuesday, February 8, a pledge to observe a ceasefire at the end of a day-long summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Shaikh.

Palestinians say practices by Israeli occupation forces on the ground have not changed. (Reuters)

Meanwhile, Ezzedin Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, fired at least 46 mortars and rockets at Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip Thursday.

“Twenty-two mortars landed in Gush Katif as well as one Qassam. There have been no injuries but damage was caused to one building,” an Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP.

An anti-tank shell was also fired at an Israeli army position near the settlement of Neve Dekalim, in the same area, without causing any injuries.

In a statement, Al-Qassam Brigades said the shelling was its “response to the Zionist crimes which are continuing and have cost the lives of Fathi Abu Jazar and Hassan Al-Alami,” referring to the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

During the same Sharm El-Sheikh summit, Abbas declared an end to all attacks on Israelis.

Hamas, as well as most Palestinian resistance factions, have made a ceasefire conditional on both an end to incessant Israeli military aggressions against the Palestinian people and the release of prisoners.

“We initiated calm to allow Abbas to achieve national demands and conditions (by negotiation) but this does not mean we will stand handcuffed in the face of Zionist crimes,” Hamas spokesman Mushir Al-Masri said when asked about the mortar fire.

“The enemy must not expect we will be silent if they continue aggression. We will pursue resistance as long as occupation and aggression go on,” he told Reuters.

The Gush Katif settlement bloc is home to the vast majority of the 8,000 Israeli settlers living in the impoverished occupied Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The settlers are to be evacuated this year under Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan which also stipulates the withdrawal of all Israeli occupation forces from the Strip.

“The killing of the two Palestinians and firing of mortars is a serious challenge to what we agreed at Sharm El-Sheikh,” Reuters quoted Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying.

“I hope that by the end of the day we will all be abiding by our commitments.”

However, political fallout came swiftly, with Israel postponing security coordination talks with the Palestinians scheduled as a follow-up to Tuesday's groundbreaking summit.

“Today's meeting with the Israelis has been postponed. The Israelis asked to cancel it because of mortar firing in Gaza earlier today,” said a senior Palestinian official.

Palestinian sources said it was not immediately clear whether the meeting would be rescheduled.