Posted on 06/11/2006 6:12:27 AM PDT by MadIvan
An Israeli helicopter air strike has killed two Palestinian militants after a rocket fired by members of the Islamic group wounded an Israeli civilian.
Witnesses said the helicopter fired a missile at a group of men operating in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said it fired after the militants launched a rocket. Three militants were also wounded.
The strike came hours after an Israeli man was wounded when a makeshift Hamas rocket landed near a school in the Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza border. A hospital official said the man was in a serious condition.
Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets into Israel but seldom cause anything but light damage or injuries. The last time an Israeli was killed by a rocket strike was last July.
The killing of the Hamas militants was the first by Israel since the ruling Islamist group ended a 16-month truce on Friday after seven Palestinians, including three children, were killed on a Gaza beach on a day of Israeli shelling.
Israel has said the killings were a mistake. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, expressed condolences for the deaths on Sunday and promised an investigation.
Since ending its truce, Hamas has fired around two dozen rockets and several mortar rounds into Israel.
There has been a marked escalation in violence in the past three days, with Hamas threatening a resumption of the type of attacks it has spearheaded against Israel since an uprising began in 2000, including suicide blasts and car bombings.
"We have decided to turn Sderot into a ghost town," Hamas said in a statement.
Hamas, which took over the Palestinian government in March, is formally sworn to Israel's destruction and has said negotiations with Israel are pointless.
The United States and European Union, which consider Hamas to be a terrorist organisation, have said that the group must recognise Israel, cease attacks and abide by existing peace agreements if it wants to be accepted.
President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement was defeated in January elections by Hamas, has called for a referendum next month on a document that implicitly recognises Israel, a move rejected by Hamas.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
I think we should provide them with some HC-130 gunships. They would be just the thing for some pinpoint pest control.
> ... after seven Palestinians, including three children,
> were killed on a Gaza beach on a day of Israeli shelling.
Notice the careful wording. There was IDF shelling that
day. It may have had nothing to do with the beach deaths.
> Israel has said the killings were a mistake.
Initially. They are beginning to think it was actually
a stray Pali rocket, or some other "work accident" by
the local Cutthroat Cult. You will not hear any of this
in Legacy Media.
I'd be interested in better understanding what happened on that beach. Was it a mistake, a response to rockets, or was it Palis?
As I said before, it's "Sucks-To-Be-You" Week in Terrorist-Land.
Ping!
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Dear Ivan,
its been a real bad week for the jihadis,
hopefully in 3 hours after the Mexican team humiliates Iran, the jihadis will have even more to cry about.
que viva la raza ese :)
More GOOD NEWS!!!
2 to 1 is not a bad kill ratio although I'd prefer to see Israel score a 10 to 1 hit.
I'm totally sick of hearing terrorist murderers, criminal trash, and illegal squaters on Israels God deeded land to Israel refered to as militants and other P.C. terms which give a propaganda acceptability to these human slime.
What has happened to the Telegraph lately?? They make it sound like the Pali's are firing bottle rockets and never want to kill or even intend to kill Isralis.
After all, July was practically a lifetime ago, right? Pfft! What about Pali suicide bombers, Telegraph, hmmmm??
He's probably just glum because his boyfriend left him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.