9 killed as Gaza militants storm Israeli border

Thursday 10th April, 05:51 AM JST

GAZA CITY —

Two Israeli civilians and seven Palestinians were killed on Wednesday in an explosion of violence on the Gaza Strip border after Palestinian commandos stormed into Israel.

The attack came after early morning fighting left an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian gunman dead, shattering a month-long lull that followed a bloody Israeli blitz on Gaza aimed at halting rocket fire.

The Israeli army said Palestinian fighters, under cover of mortar fire, breached the border near the Nahal Oz terminal that provides Gaza with its fuel supplies, and moved into Israel.

The militants shot dead two Israelis working at the terminal in what the army called a “failed abduction attempt.”

Islamic Jihad and two smaller militant groups claimed responsibility, but the Israeli government said Hamas, the Islamist group controlling Gaza, was ultimately responsible.

The army said two militants were killed at the border, with a senior official saying they were hit by tank fire as they fled back to Gaza.

An air strike aimed at militants fleeing the border battle hit a vehicle carrying Islamic Jihad militants, wounding three, and a second near a petrol station in Gaza City killed a militant and a civilian, medics said.

A third air strike in Gaza City later wounded another three people, they said.

Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza through Nahal Oz after the assault, and three Palestinian civilians were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, when an artillery round slammed into a nearby house, medics said.

Another three people were wounded, including a teenage girl, they said.

Hamas did not claim the border attack but its armed wing said it fired three homemade rockets at the crossing after the battle, the first time it has claimed an attack on Israel since the beginning of March.

Israel has put responsibility for the day’s incidents on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in June, and has vowed to retaliate.

“Hamas clearly controls the Gaza Strip. They are directly responsible for this attack and we will hold them accountable,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s spokesman Mark Regev said.

Wednesday’s attack was claimed by Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Mujahedeen, a little-known group which claimed to be linked to Abbas’s Fatah party.

Spokesmen from Islamic Jihad and the PRC said the operation was aimed at seizing Israeli soldiers.

“This martyrdom operation followed the operation in which we killed a soldier at Khan Yunis and it will be followed by other operations to respond to Israeli aggressions and crimes,” said Islamic Jihad’s Abu Ahmed.

A gun battle had erupted before dawn on Wednesday near the border fence east of the southern town of Khan Yunis, killing an Israeli soldier and a Hamas militant.

On Tuesday, an Israeli troops uncovered a tunnel shaft in a house some 700 meters from the border.

A similar tunnel was used by Gaza militants who carried out a deadly raid on an army post on the border in June 2006 and seized Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, who is still held by Hamas.

AFP

13 Comments

GrouchyGaijin at 09:36 AM JST - 10th April

If you really want a snapshot of Palestinian-Occupier relations in that part of the world, this is a great site: http://www.ifamericansonlyknew.org/ I'm cringing already, because I know what the star of David IDF people are going to unleash on the folks in Gaza, right before shabbath. Haven't they suffered enough?
Hikozaemon at 10:12 AM JST - 10th April

GrouchyGaijin - so youa re saying that Palestinians in Gaza are occupied by Israel and were entitled to cross the border, kill people and try to kidnap people as resistance against occupation?

Peace
GrouchyGaijin at 10:24 AM JST - 10th April

Just saying that they're being squeezed every which way and they're desperate. Desperate people do desperate things, like blowing down the wall and getting into Egypt like they did a while back to buy food and medicines. But, it IS an occupation and Gaza IS the world's largest and longest existing concentration camp, and the conditions are similar to a war, all be it officially undeclared. And, as we have just seen, war is ugly. Thankfully, I don't have to make, under duress, the decisions that they do, however I feel about the situation. And, ideally, they shouldn't have to either. But there is no doubt about it, they are being treated in a way by Israel that mirrors Nazi treatment of 'undesirables' during WWII. Just check the stats on that site.
skipthesong at 12:01 PM JST - 10th April

GG: They do have the choice to live amongst the people of Israel. Instead they prefer to be clean of Jews.

The only mirror of Nazis in this situation, is the Muslim approach to everything not Muslim. I really loath people like yourself who prefer to use people's poverty as a reason to commit murder. You know damn well, from day one of the state being "re-created" where they had nothing but sand and the clothes on their backs, they were brutally attacked by Muslim Arabs and if they had the brains to do it, they would wipe every Jew off the planet..

The Muslims tried and tried to wipe Israel off the map, and three times they failed. Now, they have support by people like you and perhaps the next time the surrounding countries try to invade, they may win
GrouchyGaijin at 12:40 PM JST - 10th April

Actually, that is inaccurate. The constitution of Israel, and a condition of its founding, was the right to return of the displaced Palestinians. Israel has refused that. Both Hamas and Fatah have accepted the return to the borders of pre-1967, and a recognition of Israel, for peace and coexistance. Israel has refused that too. It is the Zionist Likudniks (not the Jews) who want to eliminate the Palestinians, and it looks like they're proceeding apace! Read the latest UNHCR report on the sate of Gaza right now. Although shrouded in the mist of religion, it is a political issue, as were the wars fought against Israel. Israel won only because of US support. But think about it, why should the Palestinians be forced off their land as recompense to Jews who were killed by the Nazis in Germany? A recipe for eternal strife if ever there was one. Fundamentalism, of any stripe, will only serve to prolong it.
SezWho2 at 01:41 PM JST - 10th April

I don't think Israel has a written constitution, does it? To the best of my knowledge, there has been constant work on a project to produce a constitution, but no actual constitution. This is possibly one of the reasons why Israel usually scores poorly on human rights scales.

Nothing gives Palestinian commandos the right to penetrate Israel's borders and to seize or kill Israeli citizens. But I don't think this has been about rights for quite some time now.

In any event for Israel to claim that Hamas clearly controls Gaza and is responsible for the attack is not quite accurate. One of the chief problems in all of Palestine is that no one is in control.
SuperLib at 01:47 PM JST - 10th April

But Grouchy there was a relative calm for a month, something that could have been built upon to produce peace negotiations. There had been no rocket attacks or incursions, and that was a good thing for everyone. You can show me any website in the world but you're not going to convince me that this attack, which ended a lull in violence, was justified, smart, or appropriate.
kinniku at 01:47 PM JST - 10th April

Speaking of inaccuracies...

The constitution of Israel, and a condition of its founding, was the right to return of the displaced Palestinians. Israel has refused that.

Not exactly. At the time of its founding, Israel was willing recognize the right of return of displaced Palestinian Arabs (don't forget there were Palestinian Jews as well before the Israeli state was founded. The Arab states completely rejected the resolution although they now love to say how much this is a stumbling block to peace today. In the Middle East today, it is highly unrealistic to expect Israel to abide by the exact same resolution as it would completely change the demographics of the country. Clinging to this resolution and encouraging successive Palestinian leaders to cling to the notion that the acceptance of the exact same resolutin is the only way to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is not going to get the Palestinian people the country they are hoping for. It will just continue the misery for them.

Both Hamas and Fatah have accepted the return to the borders of pre-1967, and a recognition of Israel, for peace and coexistance.

Hamas is never agreed to recognize Israel. To quote Khaled Mashaal,

“The issue of recognition (of Israel) is a decided issue,” Mashaal said. “We don’t intend to recognize Israel.”

If you are able to find a quote indicating otherwise, I would be curious to see it.
GrouchyGaijin at 03:11 PM JST - 10th April

kinniku, Many thanks for the clarification. I'm typing on the run. Life is getting in the way of a good chat, sorry! The piece I'm referring to about accepting a 1967 bordered Israel/Palestine solution I got from: http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/cat_israel.html#081974 and especially this piece: April 3, 2008 Hamas Accepts State Within 1967 Borders Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that his movement supports the united Palestinian position that calls for the establishment of a fully sovereign state within the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem, and refugees' right to return. In an interview published yesterday in Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Meshaal referred to the 2006 prisoners' document as proof of this. "There is a Palestinian document and in it all organizations say they agree to a state in the 1967 borders."

The web hoster's comment says it all, "Guess who the holdout is?" (I have to admit my bias, I don't trust Olmert.) It's also interesting to note your comment on the demographics. I understood that the state was to have been a secular state, but even a cursory reading of Haaretz or the Jerusalem Post and I get the impression that even non "true blood" Jews (ex diaspora from Africa, say) are being severely discriminated against. Conflict within, and conflict without. It can't be a happy place to be! And it isn't going to get any better anytime soon, by the looks of things.
skipthesong at 03:47 PM JST - 10th April

even non "true blood" Jews (ex diaspora from Africa, say) are being severely discriminated against." Of course there are problems within Israel and recent flux of immigrants from Africa, but still they are not denied running for office, they are not denied access to hospitals (unless it is a private hospital run by Hisidic Jews, which really no one would want to go anyway).

The majority of Jews living in Israel today are willing to live side by side, however Jerusalem should be a free zone but the Palestinians want it all which when you really think about it, who were the ones who built the place to begin with?

Moderator: Readers, please stay on topic and don't get bogged down in historical debates.
kinniku at 04:57 PM JST - 10th April

Hello, Grouchy Gaijin! In order to get a balanced view I think it would be a good idea to be cautious in the websites that you visit. As far as the Hamas statement you posted, you need to read the whole document. Hamas does not seem interested in recognizing Israel. Incidents like the one and the following reprisals by Israel will continue until both Palestinians and Israelis are willing to give and take on the important issues.

The prisoners' document, also known as the National Reconciliation Document, was drafted by members of different Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas, held in an Israeli prison. It calls for the "establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on all the territories occupied in 1967," but does not explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist within its pre-1967 borders.
GrouchyGaijin at 05:05 PM JST - 10th April

kinniku, looks like our place on the page is about to drop off. Hopefully I'll get to "chat" with you again.

(Sorry Moderator, I'm signing off now. No more off topic comments.)
Helter_Skelter at 09:41 AM JST - 11th April

Both Hamas and Fatah have accepted the return to the borders of pre-1967, and a recognition of Israel, for peace and coexistance.

Sure GG. And I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

Palestinian fighters, under cover of mortar fire, breached the border near the Nahal Oz terminal that provides Gaza with its fuel supplies

I heard they were targeting the fuel supplies in order to create even more misery for the "Palestinians" to gain international sympathy. What they won't do in their quest for the destruction of Israel.