Mofaz's
comments brought swift condemnation from chief Palestinian negotiator
Saeb Erakat who accused the Jewish state of taking "one sided
measures" and not wanting a partner to revive the largely
non-existent peace process.
"Israel's
problem is not with a specific person, or with this generation,
Israel's problem is with all the Palestinians. There is a Palestinian
partner who wants a real peace process to end the occupation," he
told AFP.
The
Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip last month had raised hopes in the
international community of a genuine breakthrough in the Middle East
peace process but optimism was largely swiftly evaporated.
On
Monday, October 24, an international envoy blasted Israel for
foot-dragging on opening Gaza Strip border crossings following its
withdrawal.
Israel
was "almost acting as though there has been no withdrawal,
delaying making difficult decisions and preferring to take difficult
matters back into slow-moving subcommittees," James Wolfensohn
told the Mideast Quartet Committee in a letter.
The
Mediterranean costal strip has been largely cut off from the outside
world since Israel completed its troop withdrawal on September 12
after 38 years of military occupation.
Israel
still maintains tight control over the strip’s airspace, harbor and
crossings, turning it into an open-air prison.
The
latest Israeli raids drew sharp condemnation from Palestinian
officials, who called on Israel to end its bombing campaign.
"This
Israeli escalation will completely destroy the ceasefire," Erakat
told AFP, referring to a tenuous truce that has been loosely adhered
to by militant groups, but ignored by Islamic Jihad.
Nabil
Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, appealed
for calm, warning that the consequences of the bombing would affect
both peoples.
"The
Israeli escalation in Gaza and the West Bank will affect everyone. We
ask Israel to stop this aggression immediately," he told AFP.
During
the night, Israeli air force carried out four strikes on open fields
and access routes it claims used by Palestinian activists to launch
rockets against Israel.
Fighter
planes over Gaza City caused deafening sonic booms six times during
the early hours of Friday, an AFP correspondent said.
 |
|
The raids continued into Friday.
|
The
armed wing of Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed
offshoot of Abbas's ruling Fatah party, said it had fired rockets on
Israeli communities, but no impacts were reported.
"We
are saying to the criminal enemy, incursions, arrests and
assassinations against our Mujahedeen and leaders will not stop our
jihad (holy war) against its army and settlers anywhere," they
said in a joint statement.
Sharon
has vowed to press an offensive to the end against resistance fighters
after the suicide bombing in the town of Hadera -- the first such
deadly strike since the Gaza pullout.
Jihad
said the bombing came in retaliation to Israel's killing of its West
Bank military commander days earlier.
In
Gaza, a Palestinian died overnight from injuries sustained in the
Israeli air raid in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the toll from
the attack to eight, medical sources said Friday.
In
the West Bank, at least 16 Palestinians were detained by Israeli
occupation troops in an overnight sweep.
Most
of the suspects were picked up in areas around the northern West Bank
towns of Jenin and Tulkarem.
