Get your thinking cap on, Sparky!
"I am not familiar with Israel, but I plan to study the country as
soon as possible."
New U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, as reported
by 'Israel Insider' 09/20/2005
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Israel Presses Forward With Gaza Offensive By IBRAHIM BARZAK,
Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago
Israeli aircraft attacked suspected weapons factories throughout the
Gaza Strip on Monday, pressing an offensive against Palestinian
militants despite a pledge by a top Hamas leader to halt rocket fire
against Israel.
The airstrikes knocked out power to eastern Gaza City and damaged
several buildings, but no injuries were reported. Later in the day,
aircraft fired missiles at an empty field that militants used to
launch rockets at Israel, in a strike meant to deter further
attacks, the military said.
Israeli security officials said they would wait to see whether
Palestinian attacks would in fact halt before calling off the
military assault launched over the weekend.
On Monday afternoon, militants launched what appeared to be a mortar
shell at an Israeli community north of Gaza, the army said. It said
there were no injuries or damage.
The fighting came ahead of a key vote Monday in Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's Likud Party on when to hold a primary election. It is
widely seen as a test of Sharon's leadership.
Sharon, under fire from party hard-liners over Israel's withdrawal
from Gaza two weeks ago, walked out of a stormy Likud meeting Sunday
night without delivering his prepared speech. A problem with the
sound system prevented him from speaking. Some Likud officials said
the system was sabotaged by Sharon opponents.
Israel launched the weekend offensive following a rocket barrage
from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns. It has carried out a series of
airstrikes, killing four militants and destroying several weapons
facilities, and has arrested more than 200 Palestinians. The
fighting has destroyed any goodwill from the Gaza pullout and
increased already intense pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud
Abbas to confront militants.
Abbas has said his forces are not strong enough to take on
militants, and that he fears civil war among the many armed groups
in Gaza.
The attacks Monday struck targets around Gaza City as well as the
southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis. The army said its targets
included an access road leading to a rocket-launching site in
northern Gaza, and weapons-manufacturing factories and storage
facilities belonging to various militant groups.
The Gaza City airstrike destroyed a metal workshop the army said was
used by Hamas to make weapons. Factory owner Ali Shaaban said it was
the fourth time the workshop had been targeted. Shaaban said he
produced engine parts for vehicles and generators, not weapons.
Israel continued its air campaign despite a call by Hamas leader
Mahmoud Zahar to end the group's rocket attacks. Zahar spoke at a
news conference late Sunday, hours after a pinpoint Israeli
airstrike killed a top commander in the Islamic Jihad militant group.
Zahar said his Islamic militant group remained committed to a seven-
month-old cease-fire and he wanted to prevent further Israeli
attacks.
"We call on our military groups to stop their operations against the
enemy from the Gaza Strip," he said. Zahar also renewed a pledge to
end Hamas' military-style parades celebrating the Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza.
The recent violence erupted following an explosion at a Hamas parade
last Friday which killed 20 people in a Gaza refugee camp.
Hamas accused Israel of setting off the explosion. But Palestinian
Authority officials said investigators determined the blast was
caused by the mishandling of explosives. Israel, which routinely
claims responsibility for attacks on militants, denied involvement.
Following the explosion, Hamas militants fired nearly 40 rockets
into southern Israel, injuring six people and touching off the
Israeli offensive. Officials said the offensive would continue until
the rocket fire ends.
Even if Hamas stops its rocket attacks, it remains unclear whether
smaller militant groups would follow suit. Islamic Jihad's top
leader in Gaza, Mohammed al-Hindi, said the group would no longer
observe the cease-fire following Sunday's deadly airstrike.
"There is no talk of a truce. There is only room for talk of war,"
al-Hindi said.
The attack killed Islamic Jihad's top commander in southern Gaza,
Mohammed Khalil, and his bodyguard as they drove on a coastal road.
The army said Khalil was responsible for the deaths of 17 Israelis,
including a shooting attack that killed a pregnant woman and her
four young daughters as they drove near a Jewish settlement in May
2004.
Although the truce has brought a sharp drop in fighting, Islamic
Jihad has carried out a series of attacks since it went into effect,
including three suicide bombings in Israel. The group says all of
its attacks have been in response to perceived Israeli violations of
the truce.
Late Sunday, gunmen in Gaza attacked the home of the spokesman of
the Palestinian Interior Ministry, the agency that oversees
Palestinian security forces. The spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, was
not hurt.
Abu Khoussa said the attack was the third attempt on his life in
recent days and hinted that Hamas was behind it. Hamas has
criticized Abu Khoussa and other Palestinian officials for saying
negligence caused the deadly blast last week at the Hamas rally in
the Jebaliya refugee camp.
