Palestinians fire rocket at "Israeli" occupation city of Ashkelon

 Source: AP, 11-03-2008
Palestinian resistance in Gaza launched a rocket Tuesday at the "Israeli" settlement of Ashkelon, causing no injuries but threatening to upset a recent period of calm.
"Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had left Ashkelon a short time before the rocket hit.
It landed in an open area south of the city of 120,000 people, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The attack came during a lull in intense fighting between "Israel" and Hamas militants in Gaza that recently left three "Israelis" and 120 Palestinians dead, including dozens of civilians.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. But "Israel" held Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible.
"Hamas controls Gaza and they are responsible for every missile fired from Gaza into ‘Israel'. We have no illusions as to the extreme and hateful agenda of Hamas," said government spokesman Mark Regev.
During the recent fighting, dozens of rockets hit "Israel" every day, including many that targeted Ashkelon. It was the first time the coastal town was heavily bombarded by Palestinian militants.
"Israel" ended an offensive in Gaza last week, and militants scaled back their rocket fire. Egypt has been serving as a mediator between "Israel" and Gaza's Hamas rulers, but both sides denied there was an official cease-fire in place.
The lead Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, said Tuesday that "Israel" has endangered the struggling peace process with a new plan to build hundreds of homes in disputed east Jerusalem (al-Quds) and in a West Bank settlement near Jerusalem. The plans also have received harsh international criticism.
"These violations could lead to the destruction of the peace process," Qureia told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "Instead of focusing on the peace process, (‘Israel') focuses on settlement expansion."
Qureia said he would raise the matter with retired U.S. Lt. Gen. William Fraser III, the American envoy in charge of monitoring implementation of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan. Fraser is scheduled to hold his first joint meeting with "Israeli" and Palestinian officials on Friday, Palestinian officials said.
The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem - areas captured by "Israel" in the 1967 Mideast war - as parts of a future independent state.
"Israel" annexed east Jerusalem immediately after the war and says it is entitled to build anywhere in the city. Olmert has declared a partial settlement freeze in the West Bank, but allowed construction to proceed in areas he hopes to retain under a final peace agreement.