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Israel Resumes its War on the Palestinians in Gaza
by Gerry Foley / October 2005 issue of Socialist Action
newspaper
The dust had not settled after the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip before the Zionist army began using this concentration of misery again as a shooting gallery. On Sept. 24-25, Israeli planes bombed up to 12 targets.
The most murderous attack was a missile aimed at a car
carrying a top leader of Islamic Jihad, Muhammad Kalil, in the evening of
Sept. 25. He was killed, along with his bodyguard. This was the Israeli
forces’ fourth attempt to assassinate Kalil in recent years.
In the wake of Israel’s resumption of targeted strikes
against its leaders, Islamic Jihad, the second largest Islamist
organization (after Hamas) announced that it was ending its ceasefire.
One of the strikes hit a school in a largely Islamist
neighborhood. The website of the Arab nationalist TV channel al-Jazeera
reported Sept. 25: "The blast struck the al-Arkam school, established
by the late founder of Hamas, Shaikh Ahmad Yassin, which is situated in the
Tufah neighborhood—a densely populated area and a Hamas stronghold.
"The blast collapsed part of the school and caused
damage to at least five nearby homes. … Hospital officials said women and
children were among the wounded, and one person was in serious condition. …
Hospital sources said a 40-day-old baby was among the injured. …
Electricity in the neighborhood was cut, and dozens of people ran into the
streets after the
attack."
The Israeli authorities claimed that the school was a
bomb factory. Israeli planes hit other buildings it claimed were bomb
factories, as well as the headquarters of one of the militant Palestinian
group:
"The army targeted foundries and metal workshops. …
Israel, however, said the targets were a weapons-storage facility in the
Jabalya refugee camp used by the Popular Resistance Committees."
"These claims were denied by the buildings'
proprietors," al-Jazeera's correspondent reported.
"A building in Bait Hanun housing the offices of
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was also attacked.
… Residents in Bait Hanun said the PFLP building suffered heavy damage, but
said no one was believed to be inside at the time."
At the same time that it launched its strikes on Gaza,
the Israeli army massed troops along the Gaza border, threatening military
invasions. On the West Bank, the Zionist military began rounding up
Palestinian militants. As of Sept. 27, hundreds had been arrested, and
Israel was continuing its air strikes on Gaza. Two days earlier, Hamas spokesperson Mahmoud al-Zahar had
announced that the Islamist organization was halting attacks on Israel from
the Gaza Strip.
However, CNN reported on Sept. 27 that "it is an
announcement that has failed to impress Israeli Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz. ‘I am not satisfied with Mahmoud al-Zahar's declaration,’ he told
Israeli Army Radio. ‘Hamas did unforgivable acts and we need to
dictate new rules of the game.’"
It appears that Israel had been spoiling for a fight
with Hamas. It warned the Palestinian Authority against letting the
militant organization participate in the January elections scheduled for
the Palestinian territory. Many of the Hamas activists on the West Bank who
were arrested were candidates or otherwise involved in the election
campaign.
It was the Hamas fighters’ firing of a couple of dozen
home-made rockets into Israel on Sept. 23 that provided the pretext for the
Israeli assault. Hamas claimed that it had fired into Israel in retaliation
for an Israeli strike Sept. 23 on a truck carrying rockets in a Hamas
parade.
The Israeli authorities deny that their forces were
responsible. They claim that the explosion, which killed 19 people,
including children, was the result of the Hamas fighters’ careless handling
of explosives in the middle of a crowd.
The Palestinian Authority leadership has accepted the
Israeli story. But Hamas claimed that it had witnesses that saw an Israeli
drone fire a missile at the truck.
A controversy continues. But constant Israeli strikes from the air
and covert operations in Palestinian
areas have created a widespread suspicion that fosters
belief among Palestinians in the Hamas account.
In any case, the incident gave Israel the opportunity to
show that the removal of the Zionist settlements from Gaza and from a few
small localities on the West Bank did not mean a military retreat in the
face of the armed resistance of the Palestinian militant groups.
And they have effectively demonstrated that they have no
intention of relaxing their military pressure on the Palestinians until
they abandon their resistance to Zionist dominance, or until the Zionist
rulers can corrupt and/or intimidate Palestinian politicians who can join them in the dirty work of
repressing Palestinian fighters.
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