Four Israelis shot dead in West Bank Hamas attack
Four Israelis were killed in a shooting attack on a vehicle in the West Bank, two days before a new round of Mideast peace talks is scheduled to start in Washington.
The four were killed shortly in an "ambush" and the police and army were searching for the assailants, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a telephone interview.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to reporters in the Gaza Strip.
The four were killed shortly in an "ambush" and the police and army were searching for the assailants, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a telephone interview.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to reporters in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas supporters celebrate the attack in Hebron by handing out sweets. Photo: AFP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet on September 2 in Washington to start direct peace talks, the first face-to-face negotiations between the sides in 20 months. The US has said it hopes a deal can be reached within a year.
The attack took place near the settlement of Kiryat Arba, close to the city of Hebron, Rosenfeld said. The victims were a couple, including a pregnant woman, and two other passengers, Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said in a telephone interview.
"This criminal attack proves once again the need to insist on Israel's security needs, over which there will be no compromise," said Netanyahu spokesman Nir Hefez, who relayed the prime minister's remarks to reporters after he landed in the US for the start of talks.
"This criminal attack proves once again the need to insist on Israel's security needs, over which there will be no compromise," said Netanyahu spokesman Nir Hefez, who relayed the prime minister's remarks to reporters after he landed in the US for the start of talks.
An Israeli protests after a car was ambushed by Hamas gunmen. Photo: AFP
'Relatively Stable'
The Qassam Brigades said the "armed operation near Hebron is a natural response to the crimes of the Israeli occupation and its settlers".
It was the first fatal attack in the West Bank since an Israeli policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded there on June 14.
Leibovich said in a telephone interview that the attack took place in an area that had been "relatively stable" and that she hoped it was an isolated incident that didn't "represent a deterioration of the security situation".
The peace talks will be the first time Israeli and Palestinian officials have met face-to-face since negotiations broke down when Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in December 2008. Israel said it was aimed at stopping the firing of rockets from the coastal enclave at its towns and cities.
Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US, the European Union and Israel, fired about 3200 rockets and mortars into Israel in 2008, according to the Israeli army.
Final-status issues
Hamas seized full control of Gaza in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections the previous year, ending a partnership government with the Fatah party of Abbas, which controls the West Bank.
Final-status issues
Hamas seized full control of Gaza in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections the previous year, ending a partnership government with the Fatah party of Abbas, which controls the West Bank.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said August 20 that the aim of the talks was to "resolve all final-status issues, which we believe can be completed in one year".
Issues to be resolved include the borders of a Palestinian state, security guarantees for Israel, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.
Bloomberg
Issues to be resolved include the borders of a Palestinian state, security guarantees for Israel, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.
Bloomberg
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1 comment:
wow, that's madness
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