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| Middle East |
| Violence erupts in Gaza Strip |
| 2002-04-19 |
The Israeli military spokesman said a suicide bomber detonated explosives in his car at an Israeli military checkpoint near the Kissufim crossing, killing himself and lightly wounding two Israeli soldiers. Local residents said the Israelis arrested three Palestinians and announced a curfew on loudspeakers. Further south, Israeli troops moved briefly into Palestinian-controlled territory near the border with Egypt, scene of frequent clashes and incursions. Palestinians opened fire on Israeli troops, who pounded the area with heavy machine gun fire, witnesses said. Palestinian doctors said three Palestinian civilians were killed and six wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israeli military sources said that during a routine operation, Palestinians shot at soldiers, who returned the fire. Also, the military said soldiers killed two armed Palestinians who tried to infiltrate the Netzarim Jewish settlement in Gaza. The militant Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attempted raid. Thousands of Palestinians paraded through Gaza City and Rafah for the hastily arranged funerals of the casualties and vowed revenge for their deaths. A masked activist of the Fatah organization of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said the Palestinians had a message for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: "You have opened the gates of hell and you will be burnt in its fire. Murder for murder, and destruction for destruction." Gotta keep those boomers and snuffies going, whether there's any benefit to them or not. The objective isn't to damage a target or kill people, but just to have the booms going off. That shows they can't be controlled, even if they're actually being (somewhat) controlled. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |