Thursday, July 10, 2008

So, Is It Phillipa at Fault?

This story, Israeli troops kill Palestinian on Gaza border, by Nidal al-Mughrabi also had additional reporting by Atef Sa'ad in Nablus and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; writing by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, editing by Philippa Fletcher.

Notice that only in the 9th paragraph does it become clear that there is a major Arab violation of the ceasefire which until then, it is Israel which is "violating". And note, too, that no reason is given for Israel closing down "charities" in Shchem (Nablus).

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed Palestinian infiltrating Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday, the army said, the first fatality along the frontier since a June 19 ceasefire.

A Hamas spokesman said the killing was "a serious challenge" to the Egyptian-brokered truce.

An Israeli army spokesman said the man crossed the fence dividing Israel from the Gaza Strip rather than a crossing point. They fired at him after he refused their calls to stop and only later saw that he had not been carrying a weapon.

The Palestinian medical liaison office said they had been informed by the Israeli army that a Palestinian had been shot dead in the early morning near the Kissufim border crossing, which is not in use.

His body was later transferred to a Gaza hospital.

In a separate incident, a smugglers' tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border collapsed, killing at least one person and injuring three others, medical officials said. Such tunnels are used to bring weapons and goods into the territory.

The ceasefire deal calls on Hamas to prevent cross-border rocket fire and attacks from the Gaza Strip and for Israel to halt its raids and ease an economic blockade.

Israel tightened restrictions on the passage of people and goods to and from the impoverished territory after Hamas seized control of it a year ago.

Sporadic rocket and mortar bomb attacks from there since the truce began have led to brief closings of the border crossings.

"Hamas and other factions are continuously evaluating the situation and will make the decisions that will secure the protection of our people," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said after the Palestinian was killed.

CAIRO MEETING

Abu Zuhri said a Hamas delegation met Egyptian chief of intelligence Omar Suleiman in Cairo last night and urged Egypt to press Israel to stop closing crossings and to abide by the ceasefire.

Until Israel carried out its obligations under the truce deal, Abu Zuhri said, "there would be no chance" of resuming indirect talks on the fate of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants two years ago.

Hamas is seeking the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails in exchange for freeing Shalit.

In the city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops raided several charity organizations and a medical clinic and closed down a local television station, Palestinian officials said.

Over the past several days, Israel has raided 15 Nablus charities over their suspected ties with Hamas.

"The occupation's closure of some institutions will not delegitimize them ... and we will continue to deal with them," Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel-Razzak Yahya, referring to Israel, told a news conference.

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