Because of Attacks, Israel Declares Part of Gaza Off Limits
By GREG MYRE
JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 - Israel on Wednesday declared the northernmost part of the Gaza Strip a "no go" zone for Palestinians and pounded the area with artillery shells in an attempt to halt the persistent Palestinian rocket fire from the area.
Israel, which pulled out of Gaza barely 100 days ago, says it has no plans to send ground troops back into the territory. But the military has positioned heavy artillery guns just outside Gaza's northern frontier and is expected to maintain a round-the-clock air patrol with helicopters, drones and possibly other aircraft.
The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who was in Gaza on Wednesday, condemned the Israeli move, saying, "Israel left the Gaza Strip and has no right to return under any pretext, such as the firing of rockets, which I also condemn."
Israel said it was acting because the Palestinian Authority had failed to prevent the rocket fire. Palestinian militants launch most of the rockets from open areas near the border and have fired more than 200 since Israel completed its Gaza withdrawal on Sept. 12, according to the military. No Israelis have been killed, but the rockets have caused damage and injuries.
"These steps are being taken to stop the firing of rockets on Israeli towns, which we have every right to do," said David Baker, an official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Military planes dropped leaflets in northern Gaza that said any Palestinians in the "no go" zone after 6 p.m. on Wednesday risked being shot.
"Anyone who does not heed this warning is placing his or her life in immediate danger," the leaflet says.
The Palestinians fired a rocket from northern Gaza shortly before 6 p.m., and over the next few hours, the Israeli forces responded with more than a dozen artillery rounds, the military said. Palestinians said a militant and a teenage boy were wounded.
Israel's self-declared "buffer zone" consists largely of three former Jewish settlements on the northern edge of Gaza. The military said the zone was currently uninhabited, though there are Palestinian towns just outside the zone.
Israel's military destroyed the homes after the settlers were evacuated, and the Palestinians have not yet begun removing the rubble or rebuilding the area.
However, militants have entered the former settlements to fire rockets toward the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon, which was previously out of range. The rockets have not yet hit the town but are landing increasingly closer.
With the Israelis and Palestinians trading fire across Gaza's borders almost daily, an agreement on Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza has stalled. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered the deal last month, and shortly afterward, the Palestinians gained control of the border crossing in Rafah, on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
The agreement also called for bus convoys to shuttle Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank beginning Dec. 15. But Israel has delayed this and other measures.
In Palestinian politics, the two rival factions in the Fatah Party of Mr. Abbas resolved enough of their differences on Wednesday to submit a single list of candidates for parliamentary elections on Jan. 25.
However, the friction within Fatah was again on display as gunmen from Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant faction linked to Fatah, seized election offices in five towns in the Gaza Strip and waged shootouts with the Palestinian police. Dozens of gunmen battled the security forces at the election offices in Gaza City, and a policeman was shot in the leg.
Fatah has dominated Palestinian politics for decades, but it is increasingly split along generational lines. Mr. Abbas, 70, represents the old guard, while younger leaders have been demanding more prominent positions.
"What is important is that we go through the election process united," Mr. Abbas said at a news conference in Gaza City. He said it was also essential that the election was carried out "with sportsmanship and a spirit of transparency and fairness so that we can achieve the true democracy that we all want."
Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent figure among the younger Fatah leaders, was placed at the top of the Fatah candidate list. Mr. Barghouti, 46, is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison after being convicted last year of orchestrating five killings. He remains hugely popular among young Palestinians.
Other young leaders were also given places high enough on the Fatah list that they should be assured of seats in the Palestinian legislature, while a number of veteran Fatah figures are now unlikely to make the cut. The seats will be filled from the top of the list down, depending on the percentage of the vote and resulting number of seats Fatah wins in the election.
On Dec. 14, the final day to register for the elections, the young leaders announced a breakaway faction called the Future and submitted their own list of candidates. However, a Palestinian court ruled that the candidate lists could be revised and resubmitted on Wednesday.
Fatah remains the favorite in the elections, but it is facing an increasingly strong challenge from the Islamic faction Hamas, which is competing for the first time.
Also in Gaza, Palestinian gunmen kidnapped three Britons in the southern border town of Rafah, Palestinian security officials said.
Details were sketchy, but the security officials said it appeared that the three were a British couple, who had crossed from Egypt into Gaza, and their daughter.
Gunmen in Gaza have kidnapped Westerners on several occasions in the past year. The gunmen have issued various demands that include jobs in the Palestinian security forces or the release of a jailed relative. All those kidnapped have been freed unharmed, usually after just a few hours.
www.nytimes.com
JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 - Israel on Wednesday declared the northernmost part of the Gaza Strip a "no go" zone for Palestinians and pounded the area with artillery shells in an attempt to halt the persistent Palestinian rocket fire from the area.
Israel, which pulled out of Gaza barely 100 days ago, says it has no plans to send ground troops back into the territory. But the military has positioned heavy artillery guns just outside Gaza's northern frontier and is expected to maintain a round-the-clock air patrol with helicopters, drones and possibly other aircraft.
The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who was in Gaza on Wednesday, condemned the Israeli move, saying, "Israel left the Gaza Strip and has no right to return under any pretext, such as the firing of rockets, which I also condemn."
Israel said it was acting because the Palestinian Authority had failed to prevent the rocket fire. Palestinian militants launch most of the rockets from open areas near the border and have fired more than 200 since Israel completed its Gaza withdrawal on Sept. 12, according to the military. No Israelis have been killed, but the rockets have caused damage and injuries.
"These steps are being taken to stop the firing of rockets on Israeli towns, which we have every right to do," said David Baker, an official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Military planes dropped leaflets in northern Gaza that said any Palestinians in the "no go" zone after 6 p.m. on Wednesday risked being shot.
"Anyone who does not heed this warning is placing his or her life in immediate danger," the leaflet says.
The Palestinians fired a rocket from northern Gaza shortly before 6 p.m., and over the next few hours, the Israeli forces responded with more than a dozen artillery rounds, the military said. Palestinians said a militant and a teenage boy were wounded.
Israel's self-declared "buffer zone" consists largely of three former Jewish settlements on the northern edge of Gaza. The military said the zone was currently uninhabited, though there are Palestinian towns just outside the zone.
Israel's military destroyed the homes after the settlers were evacuated, and the Palestinians have not yet begun removing the rubble or rebuilding the area.
However, militants have entered the former settlements to fire rockets toward the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon, which was previously out of range. The rockets have not yet hit the town but are landing increasingly closer.
With the Israelis and Palestinians trading fire across Gaza's borders almost daily, an agreement on Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza has stalled. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered the deal last month, and shortly afterward, the Palestinians gained control of the border crossing in Rafah, on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
The agreement also called for bus convoys to shuttle Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank beginning Dec. 15. But Israel has delayed this and other measures.
In Palestinian politics, the two rival factions in the Fatah Party of Mr. Abbas resolved enough of their differences on Wednesday to submit a single list of candidates for parliamentary elections on Jan. 25.
However, the friction within Fatah was again on display as gunmen from Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant faction linked to Fatah, seized election offices in five towns in the Gaza Strip and waged shootouts with the Palestinian police. Dozens of gunmen battled the security forces at the election offices in Gaza City, and a policeman was shot in the leg.
Fatah has dominated Palestinian politics for decades, but it is increasingly split along generational lines. Mr. Abbas, 70, represents the old guard, while younger leaders have been demanding more prominent positions.
"What is important is that we go through the election process united," Mr. Abbas said at a news conference in Gaza City. He said it was also essential that the election was carried out "with sportsmanship and a spirit of transparency and fairness so that we can achieve the true democracy that we all want."
Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent figure among the younger Fatah leaders, was placed at the top of the Fatah candidate list. Mr. Barghouti, 46, is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison after being convicted last year of orchestrating five killings. He remains hugely popular among young Palestinians.
Other young leaders were also given places high enough on the Fatah list that they should be assured of seats in the Palestinian legislature, while a number of veteran Fatah figures are now unlikely to make the cut. The seats will be filled from the top of the list down, depending on the percentage of the vote and resulting number of seats Fatah wins in the election.
On Dec. 14, the final day to register for the elections, the young leaders announced a breakaway faction called the Future and submitted their own list of candidates. However, a Palestinian court ruled that the candidate lists could be revised and resubmitted on Wednesday.
Fatah remains the favorite in the elections, but it is facing an increasingly strong challenge from the Islamic faction Hamas, which is competing for the first time.
Also in Gaza, Palestinian gunmen kidnapped three Britons in the southern border town of Rafah, Palestinian security officials said.
Details were sketchy, but the security officials said it appeared that the three were a British couple, who had crossed from Egypt into Gaza, and their daughter.
Gunmen in Gaza have kidnapped Westerners on several occasions in the past year. The gunmen have issued various demands that include jobs in the Palestinian security forces or the release of a jailed relative. All those kidnapped have been freed unharmed, usually after just a few hours.
www.nytimes.com
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