Israeli troops launch military push into Gaza
-28/06/06
[01.15 GMT] Israeli troops and
Israeli troops launch military push into Gaza
-28/06/06
[01.15 GMT] Israeli troops and tanks have begun to move into the southern part of the Gaza strip, following the stand-off over an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants and the forging of a joint Palestinian negotiating position by the two main parties.
Soldiers stationed at the Gaza borders were seen moving towards the Gaza Strip late on Tuesday night (27 June 2006), shortly before two air strikes that targeted the main transformer station in Gaza, reports Saed Bannoura for the International Middle East Media Centre.
The army also fired missiles at two bridges in the central Gaza Strip shortly before midnight. AFP, Reuters and the BBC confirmed the forward Israeli push into Gaza around 12.30 GMT. The military has now acknowledged this.
The development will cause dismay for faith leaders in the area. Last month the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued an Open Letter in which they sought ìsupport for our work as peacemakers and carersî while pleading ìthat [the international community] ensure that the demands of international law be upheld equally for Israel and the Palestinians.î
The letter also unequivocally ìcondemned acts of violence and terrorism regardless of the perpetrators.î
Meanwhile on 15 June, the Vatican issued its own statement in which it ìappealed to the international community to rapidly activate the means necessary for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population.î
It ìassociated itself in urging leaders of both peoples to observe above all due respect for human life, especially that of defenceless civilians and children,î and asked ìthat the path of negotiation be resumed with courage.î
Such hopes now seem to be unraveling rapidly, at least for the immediate future. Most of the Israeli military movements on 27 June were initially seen near the Sufa Crossing, while planes and helicopters were circling overhead.
Palestinian TV then showed live images of Israeli troops, tanks, and armoured vehicles moving in an area east of Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel enclosed Gaza to prevent merchants from leaving and fishermen from sailing off the Mediterranean coast, the army said. It also closed all crossings into Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians are stranded on the Egyptian side of the border at the Rafah crossing, according PA director of security at the Palestinian crossings, Salim Abu Safiah.
Anticipating an invasion, Palestinian militants piled up sand on roads near the border and in Gaza City.
ìThey [the Israelis] should think a thousand times before committing any foolish acts and going forward with steps that will lead them to hell,î Hamas’s military wing declared late on Tuesday.
An Israeli military spokesperson said that bridges were targeted to limit the movement of resistance fighters and minimize the chances of transferring the abducted soldier, Gilad Shalit, from one side of the Gaza Strip to another.
The disused international airport has been sealed by Israeli troops, as has the crossing point with Egypt – the only effective way out for Palestinians. The transformer station attacked had earlier been misreported as a power station.
The overall aim of the military incursion seems to be to cut the Gaza strip into several controllable areas, rather than a complete re-occupation.
Abu Obediah, media spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that his fighters had prepared ìseveral surprises for the Israeli army if they consider invading Gaza.î
The invasion comes after a lengthy war of words between Hamas, Fatah and the Israeli government. Ironically, Hamas seems to have made the first steps towards a de facto recognition of Israel ñ although exiled leaders of the movement in Syria have tried to thwart this development.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who favours open negotiations, has been trying to coax Hamas (now the Palestinian Authority majority) into endorsing a document that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in effect recognizing the Jewish state.
Abbas said the proposal, put forth by Palestinians jailed by Israel, could help end western and Israeli sanctions and pave the way to reopening peace talks.
The Israeli forces had occupied Gaza for some forty years before pulling out a year ago, as part of a strategy to try to control and reassert their borders.
Israel says that only freedom for the captured soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, aged 19, can defuse the crisis, not a political agreement. But Hamas says that the Israelis must release imprisoned Palestinian women and children before it will negotiate.
[Also on Ekklesia: Gaza militants invoke God to defy pullout; British peace activist arrested in Gaza; Freedom for Kate Burton comes with fresh threats; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Catholics seek to stave off Palestinian hunger; Christians on the West Bank face more fire bomb attacks; Israel releases Palestinian prisoners; Christians warn of Palestinian vote block; Bishop suggests occupied Palestinian territory could become part of new state; Palestinians urge non-violence against Israel; Christian hunger strikers welcome ruling on Israel’s Separation Wall; Palestinians want a just peace, say churches; Christians meet to step up peacemaking in Israel and Palestine]
Israeli troops launch military push into Gaza
-28/06/06
[01.15 GMT] Israeli troops and tanks have begun to move into the southern part of the Gaza strip, following the stand-off over an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants and the forging of a joint Palestinian negotiating position by the two main parties.
Soldiers stationed at the Gaza borders were seen moving towards the Gaza Strip late on Tuesday night (27 June 2006), shortly before two air strikes that targeted the main transformer station in Gaza, reports Saed Bannoura for the International Middle East Media Centre.
The army also fired missiles at two bridges in the central Gaza Strip shortly before midnight. AFP, Reuters and the BBC confirmed the forward Israeli push into Gaza around 12.30 GMT. The military has now acknowledged this.
The development will cause dismay for faith leaders in the area. Last month the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued an Open Letter in which they sought ìsupport for our work as peacemakers and carersî while pleading ìthat [the international community] ensure that the demands of international law be upheld equally for Israel and the Palestinians.î
The letter also unequivocally ìcondemned acts of violence and terrorism regardless of the perpetrators.î
Meanwhile on 15 June, the Vatican issued its own statement in which it ìappealed to the international community to rapidly activate the means necessary for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population.î
It ìassociated itself in urging leaders of both peoples to observe above all due respect for human life, especially that of defenceless civilians and children,î and asked ìthat the path of negotiation be resumed with courage.î
Such hopes now seem to be unraveling rapidly, at least for the immediate future. Most of the Israeli military movements on 27 June were initially seen near the Sufa Crossing, while planes and helicopters were circling overhead.
Palestinian TV then showed live images of Israeli troops, tanks, and armoured vehicles moving in an area east of Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel enclosed Gaza to prevent merchants from leaving and fishermen from sailing off the Mediterranean coast, the army said. It also closed all crossings into Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians are stranded on the Egyptian side of the border at the Rafah crossing, according PA director of security at the Palestinian crossings, Salim Abu Safiah.
Anticipating an invasion, Palestinian militants piled up sand on roads near the border and in Gaza City.
ìThey [the Israelis] should think a thousand times before committing any foolish acts and going forward with steps that will lead them to hell,î Hamas’s military wing declared late on Tuesday.
An Israeli military spokesperson said that bridges were targeted to limit the movement of resistance fighters and minimize the chances of transferring the abducted soldier, Gilad Shalit, from one side of the Gaza Strip to another.
The disused international airport has been sealed by Israeli troops, as has the crossing point with Egypt – the only effective way out for Palestinians. The transformer station attacked had earlier been misreported as a power station.
The overall aim of the military incursion seems to be to cut the Gaza strip into several controllable areas, rather than a complete re-occupation.
Abu Obediah, media spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that his fighters had prepared ìseveral surprises for the Israeli army if they consider invading Gaza.î
The invasion comes after a lengthy war of words between Hamas, Fatah and the Israeli government. Ironically, Hamas seems to have made the first steps towards a de facto recognition of Israel ñ although exiled leaders of the movement in Syria have tried to thwart this development.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who favours open negotiations, has been trying to coax Hamas (now the Palestinian Authority majority) into endorsing a document that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in effect recognizing the Jewish state.
Abbas said the proposal, put forth by Palestinians jailed by Israel, could help end western and Israeli sanctions and pave the way to reopening peace talks.
The Israeli forces had occupied Gaza for some forty years before pulling out a year ago, as part of a strategy to try to control and reassert their borders.
Israel says that only freedom for the captured soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, aged 19, can defuse the crisis, not a political agreement. But Hamas says that the Israelis must release imprisoned Palestinian women and children before it will negotiate.
[Also on Ekklesia: Gaza militants invoke God to defy pullout; British peace activist arrested in Gaza; Freedom for Kate Burton comes with fresh threats; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Catholics seek to stave off Palestinian hunger; Christians on the West Bank face more fire bomb attacks; Israel releases Palestinian prisoners; Christians warn of Palestinian vote block; Bishop suggests occupied Palestinian territory could become part of new state; Palestinians urge non-violence against Israel; Christian hunger strikers welcome ruling on Israel’s Separation Wall; Palestinians want a just peace, say churches; Christians meet to step up peacemaking in Israel and Palestine]