Israeli air strikes over Gaza continue

The Bulgarian Post
2007-05-26 09:57:07

Israel bombed Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least five fighters, and seized a Palestinian cabinet minister.

Air strikes flattened compounds used by Hamas's Executive Force and armed wing, and a guardhouse outside the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, after Gaza militants behind rocket attacks against Israel signaled they might agree to a truce. At least five Executive Force members were killed and 30 other people wounded, medical workers said.

The blast damaged a kindergarten next door, breaking windows and sending children under the age of six scrambling for cover. None were hurt, Reuters news agency reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's difficulty getting rival militants to halt rocket attacks and Israel's skepticism about a new ceasefire underscored the dilemma facing both sides. Abbas, whose secular Fatah faction joined a fragile unity government led by the Islamist Hamas group two months ago, wants calm in the hope of reviving peace negotiations with Israel.

Hamas has resisted Abbas's call for a renewed truce but is aware the fighting has deepened Palestinian rancour at the government, already crippled by a Western aid embargo over its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Israeli officials doubt any truce will last if Hamas can continue smuggling in arms into Gaza from Egypt. The U.N.'s envoy has urged Israel and the Palestinians to consider the possibility of deploying international peacekeepers there.

Palestinian witnesses reported seven Israeli air strikes just before midday, on top of five air strikes overnight in which at least three people, all passers-by, were hurt. Israel has confirmed eight air strikes so far. Militants fired at least five rockets at Israel on Saturday, causing no injuries, the army said.

The Palestinian Minister of State, Wasfi Kabha of Hamas, was arrested in an early morning raid on his village near the West Bank city of Jenin, a Palestinian security official said. Kabha is the second cabinet minister seized by Israel since Thursday when troops arrested Education Minister Naser al-Shaer of Hamas and 32 other officials in the occupied West Bank.

"We have urged the U.S. and the EU to intervene to release the ministers and lawmakers," said Saeb Erekat, an Abbas aide. "This step does not help to achieve calm." The arrests have also raised concerns in Washington and at the United Nations.

The barrage of air strikes and Jenin raid came hours after Hamas's armed wing and other militant factions said they were considering a proposal by Abbas for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Even though they are partners in a two-month-old unity government, fighting between Hamas and Fatah killed some 50 Palestinians earlier this month. The latest ceasefire between the two groups appears to be holding, but tensions remain high.

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