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Israel vows to 'liquidate' Gaza's Hamas rulers
[Al Arabiya Latest] A senior minister on Sunday warned that Israel would "liquidate" the Islamist Hamas-run government in Gaza following deadly weekend clashes that killed two Israeli soldiers."Sooner or later we will liquidate the military regime of the pro-Iranian Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, from the governing rightwing Likud party, told public radio. "I am not setting a timetable, but we will not tolerate this regime continuing to strengthen itself militarily and providing itself with an arsenal of rockets that threaten our territory," he added. An Israeli officer and soldier were killed over the weekend in the deadliest clashes since Israel's 22-day offensive in Gaza launched in December 2008. When asked whether Israel may launch a new invasion of the territory, Steinitz replied: "We have no choice." The Islamist Hamas movement -- which is pledged to Israel's destruction and blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the West -- seized power in Gaza in June 2007 after routing forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Restricted West Bank access Meanwhile the Israeli military announced it will restrict access to the occupied West Bank starting late Sunday ahead of the week-long Jewish Passover holiday. Checkpoints will be closed to general traffic, though medical cases, humanitarian aid, and professionals and students with permits will be able to cross, it said in a statement. The closures will be lifted on Tuesday, April 6. The Passover holiday, during which Jews commemorate their biblical exodus from Egypt, will last for seven days beginning on Monday at sunset. Israel usually restricts access to the West Bank during Jewish holidays and has stepped up such efforts in recent months as other holidays have seen clashes erupt in and around Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound. In September and again earlier this month dozens of people were wounded when violence broke out following rumors that Jewish extremists intended to pray at the compound, which was the location of the Second Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. and is considered Judaism's holiest site. Posted by: Fred 2010-03-29 |
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