MIDDLE EAST: Israel's Olmert vows to pursue militants as the military conduct arrests and continue to clash with gunmen near Gaza City

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert toured northern Israel on Thursday (July 12) to mark the first anniversary of last summer's war in Lebanon, while Israeli forces continued to operate in Gaza. Olmert who visited the border town of Kiryat Shmona which suffered thousands of rocket attacks during a 34-day war with the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah guerillas, vowed that Israel will continue to fight the militants in Gaza, where Israel has sought to isolate Hamas' rulers who refuse to recognise Israel. "We are fighting terrorists wherever they are. Unfortunately last night we lost a soldier in our confrontation with terrorists in Gaza. This is not entirely unexpected. For a very long time we are fighting terrorists there and we are reaching out for those who are responsible for terror," Olmert told reporters. Despite the violence, Olmert planned to meet Abbas on Monday for a second round of talks since the Palestinian leader established his new, emergency administration last month. Olmert confirmed during the visit that he would meet Abbas next week to discuss Israel's pledge to release 250 Fatah members from its jails. "I will meet with President Abbas early next week and I hope to continue to discuss with him the current issues, the release of prisoners as I promised and the political horizons," he said. Earlier on Thursday Israel lost its first soldier in combat in nine months in a confrontation with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. In the clash two Palestinian gunmen also were wounded. A few hours later soldiers detained Palestinians and brought them, blind-folded, to a military camp for questioning. Elsewhere, in the central refugee camp of al-Bureij, forces backed by tanks and armoured vehicles continued to operate in the area and exchanged fire with militants. Palestinian youths who gathered on site, threw stones at the forces and fled the scene while the sound of gunfire echoed in the area. Some masked gunmen, accompanied by a crowd of youths, captured a man they suspected to be a collaborator with Israel, blindfolded him and drove him away for further questioning, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli military statement said the soldier was killed in a raid on militant targets in central Gaza, where the army has stepped up incursions since Hamas routed forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian president last month. The soldier was the first Israeli killed in combat since November, a military spokeswoman said. Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack, while Israel wounded two gunmen of Islamic Jihad in an air strike. Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said its gunmen ambushed the Israeli troops as they entered the al-Bureij refugee camp in Gaza, by detonating explosives and shooting rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. The Qassam Brigades vowed it would pursue its strikes against Israel "to sow death among the soldiers of the occupation in our beloved Gaza Strip." Israel withdrew its forces and Jewish settlers from Gaza in 2005 but has pressed on with raids aimed at halting rocket fire at the Jewish state.

ITN Source | July 12, 2007

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