"Israeli" Troops Massacre 15 Gazans Including Son of Zahar
Source: Alalam.ir, 15-1-2008
GAZA CITY--"Israeli" tanks, bulldozers and helicopters raided the Gaza Strip Tuesday, martyring the son of a senior Hamas leader and 14 other Palestinians in one of the bloodiest incursions since June.
Palestinian sniper fire across the border killed a Zionist at an illegal settlement.
The killing of Hussam Zahar, 24, the son of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar threatened to fuel the violence even further at a time of fresh talks between "Israel" and the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas condemned as a "massacre" the killings, adding "Our people cannot keep silent over these massacres".
"What happened today is a massacre, a slaughter against the Palestinian people," Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
At the morgue at Shifa Hospital, Mahmoud Zahar held his lifeless son's head in his hands and closed his eyes, then kissed him three times on the forehead and recited solemn verses from the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an.
Zahar accused Abbas of complicity in his son's death.
"This is the hope of Abu Mazen and his colleagues, the collaborators with "Israel" and the spies of America," Zahar said, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
Hamas, he vowed, will respond to Tuesday's raid "in the appropriate way. We will defend ourselves by all means.''
Another Zahar son was martyred in a botched "Israeli" assassination attempt against the elder Zahar in his home three years ago.
The killing of Hussam Zahar threatened to heat up Hamas' involvement in the daily barrage of rocket and mortar fire on southern Occupied Palestine.
The operation Tuesday began when undercover occupying troops moved several hundred yards (meters) into the territory to strike an abandoned house east of Gaza City, Hamas said.
When Palestinian resistance fighters discovered the force, an exchange of fire erupted, the movement said.
In the ensuing clashes, "Israeli" tanks fired at least three shells and aircraft struck twice in the area, Hamas said.
In all, 12 fighters and three civilians were martyred by late morning, and 40 Palestinians were wounded, fighters and doctors said.
Shifa Hospital put out a radio call for blood donations because of the large number of wounded.
Deputy war minister of the occupying regime, Matan Vilnai, told Army Radio that "a large force of infantry and engineering corps troops, backed by tanks and the air force, is operating in the northern Gaza Strip''.
In the course of the fighting, a Palestinian sniper fired from the border area into occupied territories, killing a Zionist at the communal farm of Ein Hashlosha. Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility.
The new killings came even as prime minister Ehud Olmert suggested the occupying regime would not launch a broad operation in Gaza, despite war minister Ehud Barak's repeated assertions that a large-scale strike was inevitable.
The incursion also came as Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator Ahmed Qurei and the "Israeli" occupying regime's foreign affairs minister Tzipi Livni ended first round of their talks in Al-Quds.
Hamas' senior political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, denounced Abbas for trying to make "peace" with the Zionists.
"Shame, shame, for those who shake hands with the leaders of the occupation, those who sit with the occupation leaders, and those who give compromises to the occupation,'' Haniyeh told Hamas TV.
Qurei and Livni met for two hours at an Al-Quds hotel, and "Israeli" officials said such meetings were expected to continue on a more-or-less weekly basis.
"They started talking about the core issues,'' "Israeli" foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said.
The core issues relate to the key questions, including the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Al-Quds and the future of Palestinian refugees.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri demanded that Abbas "stop giving away Palestinian blood and rights for free''.
"This is a failed meeting that is going to provide a cover for the occupation crimes against our people,'' Abu Zuhri told reporters.
Meanwhile, "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert voiced skepticism about chances of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.
A senior government official quoted Olmert as telling parliament's foreign affairs and war committee: "I'm not sure we can reach an agreement and I'm not sure we can reach its implementation."
US President George W Bush had earlier predicted a "peace" treaty could be signed by the end of his term in January 2009.
The Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday that "Israel" had started building 60 new housing units in a settlement in east Al-Quds.
The move is likely to raise tensions with the Palestinians just as they begin to tackle the thorniest issues of their conflict.
The paper said the homes were being constructed in Maaleh Hazeitim, in the Ras al-Amud area of east Al-Quds, which "Israel" occupied and annexed in 1967 after the Arab-"Israeli" war.
It said 51 Jewish families already live in the neighborhood, built on land bought 15 years ago by US millionaire Irwin Moskowitz.
GAZA CITY--"Israeli" tanks, bulldozers and helicopters raided the Gaza Strip Tuesday, martyring the son of a senior Hamas leader and 14 other Palestinians in one of the bloodiest incursions since June.
Palestinian sniper fire across the border killed a Zionist at an illegal settlement.
The killing of Hussam Zahar, 24, the son of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar threatened to fuel the violence even further at a time of fresh talks between "Israel" and the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas condemned as a "massacre" the killings, adding "Our people cannot keep silent over these massacres".
"What happened today is a massacre, a slaughter against the Palestinian people," Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
At the morgue at Shifa Hospital, Mahmoud Zahar held his lifeless son's head in his hands and closed his eyes, then kissed him three times on the forehead and recited solemn verses from the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an.
Zahar accused Abbas of complicity in his son's death.
"This is the hope of Abu Mazen and his colleagues, the collaborators with "Israel" and the spies of America," Zahar said, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
Hamas, he vowed, will respond to Tuesday's raid "in the appropriate way. We will defend ourselves by all means.''
Another Zahar son was martyred in a botched "Israeli" assassination attempt against the elder Zahar in his home three years ago.
The killing of Hussam Zahar threatened to heat up Hamas' involvement in the daily barrage of rocket and mortar fire on southern Occupied Palestine.
The operation Tuesday began when undercover occupying troops moved several hundred yards (meters) into the territory to strike an abandoned house east of Gaza City, Hamas said.
When Palestinian resistance fighters discovered the force, an exchange of fire erupted, the movement said.
In the ensuing clashes, "Israeli" tanks fired at least three shells and aircraft struck twice in the area, Hamas said.
In all, 12 fighters and three civilians were martyred by late morning, and 40 Palestinians were wounded, fighters and doctors said.
Shifa Hospital put out a radio call for blood donations because of the large number of wounded.
Deputy war minister of the occupying regime, Matan Vilnai, told Army Radio that "a large force of infantry and engineering corps troops, backed by tanks and the air force, is operating in the northern Gaza Strip''.
In the course of the fighting, a Palestinian sniper fired from the border area into occupied territories, killing a Zionist at the communal farm of Ein Hashlosha. Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility.
The new killings came even as prime minister Ehud Olmert suggested the occupying regime would not launch a broad operation in Gaza, despite war minister Ehud Barak's repeated assertions that a large-scale strike was inevitable.
The incursion also came as Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator Ahmed Qurei and the "Israeli" occupying regime's foreign affairs minister Tzipi Livni ended first round of their talks in Al-Quds.
Hamas' senior political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, denounced Abbas for trying to make "peace" with the Zionists.
"Shame, shame, for those who shake hands with the leaders of the occupation, those who sit with the occupation leaders, and those who give compromises to the occupation,'' Haniyeh told Hamas TV.
Qurei and Livni met for two hours at an Al-Quds hotel, and "Israeli" officials said such meetings were expected to continue on a more-or-less weekly basis.
"They started talking about the core issues,'' "Israeli" foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said.
The core issues relate to the key questions, including the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Al-Quds and the future of Palestinian refugees.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri demanded that Abbas "stop giving away Palestinian blood and rights for free''.
"This is a failed meeting that is going to provide a cover for the occupation crimes against our people,'' Abu Zuhri told reporters.
Meanwhile, "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert voiced skepticism about chances of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.
A senior government official quoted Olmert as telling parliament's foreign affairs and war committee: "I'm not sure we can reach an agreement and I'm not sure we can reach its implementation."
US President George W Bush had earlier predicted a "peace" treaty could be signed by the end of his term in January 2009.
The Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday that "Israel" had started building 60 new housing units in a settlement in east Al-Quds.
The move is likely to raise tensions with the Palestinians just as they begin to tackle the thorniest issues of their conflict.
The paper said the homes were being constructed in Maaleh Hazeitim, in the Ras al-Amud area of east Al-Quds, which "Israel" occupied and annexed in 1967 after the Arab-"Israeli" war.
It said 51 Jewish families already live in the neighborhood, built on land bought 15 years ago by US millionaire Irwin Moskowitz.
