Four militants killed in Gaza
Israeli forces entered deep into the Gaza Strip early today for the first time since Israel’s summer withdrawal from the coastal area.
They battled gunmen and killed four Islamic Jihad militants who planned to fire rockets, the army and Palestinian security officials said.
The troops entered about two miles into the coastal area, marking a change in the way the army has operated since its withdrawal from Gaza in September.
Until now, soldiers have only entered a few yards into Gaza, searching for mines along the border fence, but avoiding operations deep in the coastal area.
Today, what began as a cross-border clash just after midnight rapidly evolved when the troops hunted down the militants, who the army said were preparing to fire a barrage of home-made rockets at Israeli towns.
Palestinian security officials said the fierce fighting between the militants and Israel’s special forces, who were joined at one point by a naval diving unit, lasted about five hours, ending just before dawn.
Israel’s air force also sent helicopters to back the troops, raining missiles down on the militants.
Although the Palestinian rockets rarely kill anyone, they are a sore point for the army, which has failed in more than five years of fighting with the Palestinians to halt the fire.
Since the withdrawal, army officials have repeatedly said that the only way to halt the fire is to re-enter Gaza, something Israel has been reluctant to do.
By this morning, the troops had left the coastal area, but the army warned it would “continue to act with determination and to employ all means at its disposal to combat terrorists and their infrastructure in order to defend the citizens of Israel”.
Violence also erupted in the West Bank early today, with troops killing three militants in separate incidents in the Nablus area. Two of the militants were from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a group linked to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ party, and the third belonged to Islamic Jihad.
Islamic Jihad has refused to recognise a truce that has been in effect since February 2005. The group has been responsible for all eight suicide bombings in Israel since then. Israel has hunted down Islamic Jihad leaders in both Gaza and the West Bank, killing some and capturing others.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Abu Teir, a Hamas politician who was told by Israel yesterday that he either had to quit the Palestinian parliament or lose his Jerusalem residency, rejected the ultimatum, saying he planned to appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court.
Israeli Interior Minister Ronnie Bar-On issued the ultimatum to four leading Hamas politicians from east Jerusalem: Khaled Abu Arafa, the minister of Jerusalem affairs, and politicians Abu Teir, Ahmed Abu Atoun and Mahmoud Totach.
“You will either resign or you won’t be with us,” Bar-On said. “The letters were delivered to them today, and they have 30 days to decide.”
The four officials were summoned to accept the ultimatum notices at a Jerusalem police station. All refused to sign the letters and were released, police said.
“How can Israel call itself a democracy and do this?” Abu Teir asked in an interview with Israel Radio on Tuesday. “I am going to court.”
Expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem for political reasons is unprecedented. It reflects the new situation caused by the Hamas victory in January parliamentary elections and its formation of a government in March.
Israel has declared the Hamas regime a “hostile entity” and is leading a drive to cut off all funding to the Palestinian Authority, which has led to widespread hardships. Israel, the US and the European Union list Hamas, which is officially sworn to Israel’s destruction, as a terrorist organisation.
Israel says that, according to interim peace accords, the Palestinians are not allowed to conduct political activity in Jerusalem. Abu Teir and his fellow Jerusalem lawmakers have been repeatedly detained by Jerusalem police for political activity in the city.
Residents of east Jerusalem enjoy a wide range of social benefits including pensions and healthcare. Israeli-issued identity cards grant them permanent residency in Jerusalem and freedom of movement throughout Israel.
The special arrangement is part of the conflict over Jerusalem. Israel captured the traditionally Arab sector in the 1967 war and annexed it a few weeks later.
Israel offered citizenship to the Palestinians there, but few accepted. Instead, Israel gave the Jerusalem Palestinians blue resident cards almost identical to the ID cards issued to citizens.
Palestinian residents of Jerusalem can vote in municipal elections, but not in the national vote.
Palestinians claim the Arab sector of the city as the capital of the state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel originally threatened to strip the Hamas legislators of their Jerusalem identity cards in April after the Palestinians’ Hamas-led government refused to denounce a suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv fast food restaurant that killed 11 civilians, including an American teenager, and wounded dozens.
