JERUSALEM - One or more Palestinian gunmen broke into a Jewish settlement in the West Bank late Friday, opened fire, wounding at least seven Israelis and killing three, the army said. It's the first fatal attack on Israelis in a month.
Meanwhile, the leader of Hamas told 30,000 supporters Friday that the group will keep carrying out suicide bombings and shootings in Israel, despite talks between the Islamic militant group and Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction on suspending such attacks.
A pledge by Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin that ``the march of martyrs will move forward'' drew cheers from the crowd packed into a soccer stadium in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighborhood, a Hamas stronghold.
With the rally, Hamas was marking the 15th anniversary of its founding. Since 1987, the group has carried out scores of bombings, killing hundreds of Israelis.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, told army commanders they must keep up the pressure on Palestinian militias, Israel radio reported. Mofaz's comment came a day after at least eight Palestinians, including six wanted men, were killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops renewed arrest raids in the West Bank on Friday.
In the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, soldiers captured a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia linked to Fatah, and found in his possession an audio tape in which announced he was planning a suicide bombing, the army said.
In Bethlehem, soldiers arrested the former head of the student council of Bethlehem University, a Fatah activist, security officials said.
Israel reoccupied Bethlehem on Thursday, after a two-day respite for Christmas. In returning to Jesus' traditional birthplace, troops imposed a curfew that was briefly lifted Friday to allow residents to stock up on supplies.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat on Friday accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of trying to disrupt Egyptian-led talks between Hamas and Fatah on suspending attacks in Israel. Erekat said that by ordering relentless strikes against militias, Sharon was trying to provoke Palestinian retaliation.
Palestinians have repeatedly accused Sharon of trying to sabotage truce efforts because in a period of calm, Israel would come under greater pressure to make concessions. ``Sharon's endgame is to sabotage the Egyptian effort,'' Erekat said.
Sharon's adviser, Raanan Gissin, said Palestinian militias are not serious about stopping violence, and that only continued operations against them help prevent attacks on Israelis. ``This is an ongoing, continuous war,'' Gissin said.
There have been no bombings or shootings in Israel for the past month - one of the longest periods of calm in 27 months of fighting.
A source close to the Cairo talks said this week that Hamas promised the Egyptians to refrain from attacks in Israel, but that local activists would be difficult to control if Israel does not stop targeted killings of Hamas militiamen.
Yassin, spiritual leader of the group, did not send any conciliatory signals Friday. ``The march of martyrs will move forward,'' Yassin told the rally. ``Resistance will move forward. Jihad will continue, and martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) will continue until the full liberation of Palestine.''
The Cairo talks are also aimed at reaching a power-sharing agreement between Hamas and Fatah and formulating a joint political platform.
Fatah recognizes Israel and strives for Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, while Hamas wants to destroy Israel and establish a state in all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.
Yassin said unity is worthless if Hamas has to give up its right to resist occupation. ``There is no point to unity without legitimate struggle without defending ourselves and this is the unity we are seeking and are discussing in Cairo,'' he said.
Yet in a concession to the Palestinian Authority, Friday's rally did not feature white-robed would-be suicide bombers - a staple of previous Hamas gatherings. In entertaining the crowd, activists blew up a large model of an Israeli tank and burned U.S., British and Israeli flags.
Wednesday
May 8th, 2024
4:22PM
