| Page 2 of 2 < |
Abbas Sets Date for Referendum on Israel
A Palestinian Hamas supporter waves a green Islamic flag as thousands of Palestinians attend a demonstration at the Palestinian Parliament in Gaza City, Friday, June 9, 2006 following an Israeli artillery strike that killed seven civilians in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a three-day mourning period and Hamas' military wing said it would no longer honor a truce with Israel following the deadly Israeli artillery strike. The Israeli army said it had targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip used by Palestinian militants to fire homemade rockets at Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
(Khalil Hamra - AP)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
So far the group has not budged from its refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept past peace accords. Israel and the international community require those steps before they will deal with the group.
Hamas claimed responsibility Saturday for firing at least 15 rockets and a barrage of mortar shells at Israel _ essentially ending its 16-month truce.
The army said more than two dozen homemade rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel on Saturday. No casualties were reported.
Israel's army chief expressed regret for Friday's civilian deaths, but stopped short of accepting responsibility for the incident. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said an investigation was still underway, and it was still not clear what caused the deaths.
The investigation had so far ruled out gunboats and an airstrike, but it is still possible Israeli artillery or even a misfired Palestinian rocket caused the deaths, Halutz said.
Abbas condemned the killings as a "genocidal crime." Haniyeh called the shelling a "war crime" and called for an end to Hamas-Fatah fighting.
Tensions between Abbas and Hamas have been increasing since the Islamic militant group, which won a January parliamentary election, took power in March.
Abbas, elected separately last year, still wields considerable authority and Fatah and Hamas are battling over control of the security forces. Factional fighting in Gaza's streets has raised the specter of civil war.
The unsuccessful negotiations between Abbas and Hamas over the prisoners' document also have exposed divisions between Hamas' local officials and its Syria-based leadership, which has held sway.
Meanwhile, new violence erupted between gunmen loyal to the president and Hamas' militia before Abbas' announcement.
Gunmen shot and killed a 39-year-old Palestinian security officer in a botched kidnapping attempt, Palestinian Preventive Security officials said. The force, loyal to Abbas, accused Hamas of the killing and vowed to impose justice.
During the funeral procession, a gunbattle erupted between gunmen from Hamas and the Preventive Security force. The car of Gaza's top pro-Abbas general was caught in the crossfire, and he was rushed out of the area.
Four people were wounded, including one seriously, hospital officials said. Hamas gunmen took up positions in the area, leading to a tense standoff.
