VARIOUS: Israeli-Palestinian violence continues as Hamas warns of new intifada without progress towards a Palestinian state

A rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip struck a house in Sderot on Saturday (November 25), badly damaging the house. According to medical officials there were no injuries or casualties from the attack. The rocket destroyed the house after penetrating the ceiling and roof. Nearby residents rushed to the street in confusion to check on their neighbours. Israeli tank shells slammed into a house and a car in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, causing at least two injuries, hospital officials said. Israeli tanks and troops have been operating in the area east of Jabalya. The explosions took place shortly after militants fired rockets into Israel, residents said. An army spokeswoman said the tank shells were fired at rocket launchers. Two militants escaped from the car with minor injuries. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was inside the house. In northern Gaza hundreds of Palestinians, including gunmen of the Islamic Jihad militant group, marched in a funeral procession for a militant who was killed by Israeli troops in northern Gaza earlier the same day. Israeli soldiers operating east of the town of Beit Lahiya shot dead the 23-year-old Islamic Jihad militant after he fired rocket-propelled grenade at the forces, hospital and witnesses said. The clashes erupted during an army push to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into nearby Israeli cities. Palestinian hospital sources said two Palestinians were severely wounded in the clashes and were brought for treatment at a hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya. An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers operating in the area fired at two militants who had approached them and identified hitting one. It was not immediately clear if it was the same incident. In a separate incident overnight, an unidentified Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops while approaching the strategic Karni border crossing. The army spokeswoman confirmed the incident, saying the soldiers opened fire at three men, hitting one of them. It was unclear if the man was armed. Israel began an offensive in the Gaza Strip in June after Palestinian militants from Gaza captured an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid. Nearly 400 Palestinians, about half of them militants, have been killed since the offensive began, according to Palestinian hospital officials. Palestinian militant factions have frequently fired rockets into Israel in recent years and have increased their bombardments since the start of the Gaza offensive, sometimes averaging several dozen a day. Hundreds of rockets hit Israeli towns bordering with Gaza since Israel launched its Gaza offensive. Two Israelis were killed in rocket attacks. Palestinian factions in Gaza earlier this week had offered to stop firing rockets if Israel halted military action in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israel rejected the offer, saying militants must first stop all "terror activities." Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has said that despair will lead the Palestinians to start a third "intifada" (uprising) to end Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories if Israel's siege of Gaza continues. Meshaal made his comments at a news conference on Saturday (November 25) after meeting Egyptian officials in Cairo where he is reportedly attempting to advance talks on a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Palestinians and the formation of a Palestinian unity government. "We came to Egypt with three goals - the difficulty in establishing a government, and the difficulty in lifting of the siege, and the difficulty of freeing of our prisoners, men and women," said Meshaal. Since Hamas swept Palestinian Parliamentary elections in January, the United States and Israel have led the embargo, demanding that Hamas recognize Israel, past peace agreements and forsake violence before they will deal with it. Israel's ongoing siege and military offensive against the Gaza strip have resulted in a humanitarian disaster, according to the UN. Meshaal is also attempting to build on a recent decision by the Arab League to end its co-operation in a western boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian government. "We know that all the Arab and Islamic nations are genuine and honourable, and we are asking for more from them. Today I am calling from Cairo for the Arab people and the Islamic people to start a program to end the siege," he said.

ITN Source | November 25, 2006

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