Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said late Monday in Gaza City that the Palestinians were "determined to resist the Israeli aggression," said reports.
"The five-month aggression against our people, the blockade on our towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the attacks by Jewish settlers backed by the Israeli army only strengthen our determination to resist," Arafat was quoted as saying by AFP.
"Hardships only strengthen the people’s determination to achieve their national goals, such as an independent state with Al-Qods (Jerusalem) as its capital," he said.
On Wednesday, the Israeli authorities imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip following a bus attack in Tel Aviv in which eight Israelis were killed.
The blockade was partially lifted in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
Also on Monday, Israeli troops killed a Hamas activist in Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.
The Islamic movement accused Israel of assassinating Mahmoud Madani.
Madani, 25, was hit by three bullets in the chest apparently fired from an Israeli army post on a hilltop overlooking the refugee camp, said reports.
"This is a utter crime and an attempt to kill in cold blood which is part of the Israeli policy to suppress the Palestinian people and destroy the Intifada," Jamal Salim, a Hamas leader in Nablus, was quoted as saying by Haaretz newspaper.
In other incidents, eight people were injured Monday after the Israeli military shelled areas in the West Bank, said the paper – Albawaba.com
