Five Palestinians were killed Wednesday, as Israeli forces streamed into three Gaza Strip towns in a massive operation, the Israeli army said was aimed at arresting suspects and capturing weaponry including rockets and mortars.
This violence came as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Israel for talks with his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, and with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to try to revive the peace process.
Israeli Operation
The Israeli wide-scale incursion came after Hamas gunners fired two locally-made Qassam-2 rockets into southern Israel, hitting farmland on Sunday. Israel had pledged a massive response.
Palestinian security officials said five policemen were killed in Deir al-Balah when an Israeli bulldozer destroyed their position. Israeli sources said the five were shot dead by tank fire when it appeared they were about to open fire. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.
Seven thousand Palestinians turned out for their funeral later in the town. Among those marching in the military funeral ceremony were 500 supporters of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, who fired into the air and chanted slogans calling for revenge.
Israeli tanks took up positions around the partially destroyed Beit Hanoun house of Salah Shehadeh, a prominent Hamas activist said to be high on the Israeli wanted list, Palestinians said.
Meanwhile, Palestinians fired a mortar shell at the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Israeli security forces were searching the area for the remains of the shell, Army Radio reported.
Earlier, Palestinian gunmen fired at an Israeli vehicle near Neveh Dekalim settlement. There were no injuries in either incident.
Straw, Fischer
The British Foreign Minister Jack Straw went straight into talks with the Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, before heading off to lunchtime meeting with Peres, a British embassy official said.
After meeting Peres, Straw was planned to hold talks with Arafat in Ramallah, the West Bank city where the Palestinian leader has been confined by Israeli forces since early December. He will meet other top officials from both sides on Thursday.
While there was to be no meeting with Israeli premier Ariel Sharon, who is suffering from influenza, the two did talk by phone. This visit is the first step in a two-pronged EU Middle East initiative following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain earlier this week.
According to AFP, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and Arab League Secretary General Amr Muossa in Cairo Wednesday.
He will proceed to Tel Aviv on Thursday, swapping notes at the airport with Straw and meeting Sharon, Peres and Ben Eliezer. Talks with Arafat have been set for Saturday.
Israeli press reports quoted Straw's spokesman as saying he was "skeptical" about a French-initiated idea to get the EU to switch diplomatic efforts from pushing for a ceasefire to trying to restart political talks. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
