Palestinians reject any further ceasefire pledges to “Israel”

Source: AP, 22-6-2006
Occupation resistance groups pledged to increase their rocket attacks against "Israel", targeting the town of Sderot, just outside Gaza`s border fence.
As the funeral procession of the latest victims of "Israeli" executions moved, a resistance fighter grabbed the microphone and shouted "Do you want a cease-fire?" and the mourners shouted back, "No!" He was referring to a shaky February 2005 truce declared by major Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, which earlier this year took over the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet.
Abu Qusai of the Al Aqsa Martyrs` Brigades, linked to Fatah, said flatly, "We will not commit to the truce." Referring to civilian deaths in earlier incidents, he added, "How can we hear the cries of these children, like the ones on the beach of Gaza, and stand idle?"
On June 9, eight Gaza beachgoers were killed in a beach blast Palestinians blamed on an "Israeli" artillery shell. "Israel" claimed it was not responsible.
On Wednesday, the military said examination of another fragment removed from the body of a wounded Palestinian receiving treatment in "Israel" backed up that conclusion.
Since the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising, or intefadeh, in 2000, "Israel" has killed dozens of militants in missile attacks, but hundreds of bystanders have been killed and wounded as well.
At least eight Palestinian civilians were killed in a separate "Israeli" airstrike last week, which came just a few days after the beach explosion.
"Israeli" critics questioned the wisdom of targeting militants in heavily populated areas.
Ran Cohen, a retired army officer and a lawmaker from the dovish Meretz Party, said even when "Israel" succeeds in killing resistance fighters, "the damage is far greater than the gain."
International criticism was quick and harsh. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett condemned Tuesday`s airstrike, saying, "The killing of innocent civilians, and particularly children, is completely unacceptable."
Palestinians and human rights groups reject the airstrikes as summary executions.
But "Israel's" leaders insisted they would step up their attacks to try to stop the rocket barrages, targeting leaders of resistance groups. "We shall take tough measures, tougher and more frightening than those we took in the past," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday.
The botched air raids overshadowed the first tentative move toward renewed peace negotiations following Hamas` victory in parliamentary elections in January.