Israel kills 4 in West Bank
2008-03-12 21:19
Bethlehem - Israeli forces killed four Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers demanded a halt to all Israeli "aggression" as a condition for a ceasefire.
A source in Islamic Jihad, which lost three members,
including a local leader, in the Bethlehem raid, vowed revenge
and said: "The Zionist enemy has no interest in calm".
Islamic Jihad is among militant groups that powerbroker
Egypt had hoped to coax into holding rocket fire from Gaza in a
bid to bolster US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the
Western-backed Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
As part of any ceasefire, Islamist Hamas - which seized
control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas's forces there - is demanding a say in the future functioning of the coastal
territory's border crossings, a condition rejected by Israel.
Israel appeared to rebuff the idea
The leader of Hamas's administration in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said: "There must be a commitment by Israel to end all acts of aggression against our people, assassinations, killings and raids and lift the (Gaza) siege and re-open the crossings."
He said a truce should be "reciprocal, comprehensive and
simultaneous"; apply both to Gaza and the West Bank -
territories where Palestinians seek statehood - and be approved
by other factions.
Hamas had previously been vague about whether it would
insist on including the West Bank in any Gaza truce.
Before the Bethlehem killings, Israel appeared to rebuff the
idea of halting West Bank operations, arguing that they are
necessary to thwart attacks by Hamas and other groups.
Witnesses said a team of Israeli commandos disguised as
locals and riding in a taxi with Palestinian licence plates
drove up to a car full of militants and sprayed it with bullets.
The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the raid, saying
its forces intended to carry out arrests, but opened fire after
seeing that three of the militants had assault rifles.
Rocket salvoes from the Gaza Strip have tailed off since
Israel ended an offensive in the territory nine days ago that
killed 120 Palestinians. Israel has not raided the area since
wrapping up the operation.