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Fresh violence threatens Gaza peace deal
(AKI) - Fresh violence between Israel and Palestinian militants on Friday threatened an agreement on a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Officials from the ruling Islamist Hamas movement had earlier said an agreement with Israel on a long-term truce may be announced within days. Two rockets and a mortar shell fell fired from Gaza hit southern Israel, the Israeli military said. According to the Palestinian news agency, Maan, the Hizbullah Brigades in Palestine claimed responsibility for the attacks that targeted Sderot and the western Negev, but no one was injured in the violence. Later on Friday an Israeli warplane retaliated and bombed a target in the Gaza town of Khan Younis, killing one suspected militant and wounding at least one other. A Israel Defense Forces spokesman said the strike hit two Islamic Jihad militants who were planning a terrorist attack in Israel. According to the Israeli daily, Haaretz, the dead man was a member of the small Popular Resistance Committees group. The Khan Younis strike was followed by air attacks on what the military claimed to be six weapons smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. There were no reports of Palestinian casualties in raids on the tunnels. There have been several rocket fire and shooting incidents on the Gaza-Israel border since the end of Israel's three-week offensive in which more than 1,330 Palestinians were killed in the coastal territory. Israel stopped its military action, Operation Cast Lead, on 18 January and Hamas declared a ceasefire the same day. Friday's exchanges came as Hamas officials said talks in Cairo on a long-term truce were close to success. Earlier Hamas said it was ready to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and endorse a long-term truce with Israel. Shalit would be freed as part of a prisoner exchange with Israel that could see as many as 1,000 Palestinians, including women and children released. However, Hamas has demanded the release of 1,400 prisoners, but diplomats have said Israel would free closer to 1,000. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-15 |
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