|
Palestinians
Negotiate Ceasefire, Israel Kills Hamas Activist
|
|
|
Palestinians transport a boy wounded during an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in Gaza
|
GAZA,
June 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As the Islamic
resistance group Hamas reportedly made contacts with the Palestinian
government to resume ceasefire talks, an Israeli helicopter gunship
killed at least one of its members in a fresh raid on Gaza on Friday,
June 13.
The
raid on densely-populated al-Sabra neighborhood also left more than 22
others, including eight children in Gaza, wounded, few hours after two
others were killed in the northern West Bank of Jenin.
“Two
Israeli rockets were fired at a Mazda car, leaving at least one person
dead,” Al-Jazeera correspondent said on air by
telephone.
The
dead was identified as Fouad al-Lidawi, a member of the Islamic
resistance movement Hamas, said the correspondent.
The
raid came as Israeli Prime Minister Yasser Arafat was meeting with
heads of his security apparatus holding a meeting with chiefs of
security apparatus to discuss a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with
Israel, a source in the Palestinian leader's office told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Among
those attending were Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, the
head of national security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and
intelligence chief General Amin al-Hindi.
Hamas
leader Ismail Hania confirmed that Lidawi was killed in the attack,
which came one day after Israeli helicopters assassinated
Yasser Taha, a Hamas cadre, his wife and three-year-old daughter in
the densely populated area of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza. Four civilians
were also killed at the raid.
Hania
said that such Israeli military escalations “send the message clear
to the Bush administration, that Israel has declared war against all
of Palestinian people, not only Hamas.”
“The
Americans should come here to see who is the victim, who is the
terrorist in this vicious cycle of Zionist terrorism against
Palestinians,” he added.
Washington
responded to earlier Israeli attacks by calls on the Palestinian
government to work harder to “rein in” resistance groups, leaving
many Palestinians irked by these statements.
Israel
announced an “all-out war” against Hamas, and that all of the
group members are targeted including its spiritual leader Ahmed
Yassin. The Palestinian government said it considered the war
declaration is directed to “all Palestinians”
The
tension between Israel and Palestinians was triggered off when Israeli
forces carried out a botched assassination
attempt on Hamas leader Abdul-Aziz al-Rantissi, few days after a peace summit
attended by U.S. President George W. Bush in Jordan, in which
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas made vows to end attacks
against Israel through dialogue with resistance group.
The
Palestinian response was swift,
17 people were killed and more than 70 others injured when an
explosion ripped through a bus on Jaffa street in the west of occupied
Jerusalem.
The
escalation of Israeli attacks came to put all peace efforts at a
standstill, as more than 25 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the
last few days.
On
Wednesday,
a number of Israeli helicopters fired rockets on a vehicle carrying
two Hamas members and killed them.
Ceasefire
Talks
 |
|
Palestinians attempt to extinguish a burning car after an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in the Gaza.
|
Shortly
before the Israeli raid in Gaza, reports turned up that intensive
contacts are now under way among all parties concerned to clinch a
ceasefire between Hamas and the Jewish state.
“The
Palestinian Authority is now involved in unofficial contacts with
Hamas leaders to reach a crossing point for resuming dialogue on
ceasefire,” a Hamas leader told AFP.
But
the latest helicopter attack is expected to undermine all ceasefire
efforts given Israel’s continued military aggressions might drew a
backlash from jeering Palestinians.
Hamas
leader told IslamOnline.net earlier in the day that his group
“deeply studies” any proposals for returning to the table with the
Palestinian government as long as it would take into account
“Palestinian fixtures and support for the Intifada; not the
opposite”.
Hamas
said it would give up resistance only if Israeli army ceases daily
incursions into Palestinian areas and moves on to end its
long-standing occupation.
In
the meanwhile, Al-Jazeera said that Egypt won promises
from Hamas for a temporary ceasefire with Israeli occupation forces.
A
10-member delegation is to leave for Palestinian territories to follow
on helping end military operations between the two conflicting sides,
it added.
|
