Palestinians seek halt to Israeli bombings in Gaza
Reuters
Date: 10-29-05
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians called on Saturday for swift international intervention to stop a series of Israeli air strikes on Gaza that have knocked out electricity to several thousand homes and blasted deep craters in roads.
The air strikes were part of a broad Israeli offensive launched by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against Islamic Jihad militants who claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis in an open-air market on Wednesday.
In most of Israel's dozen raids, warplanes targeted rocket launch sites in open areas of northern Gaza, from where militants have fired rockets, mortars and anti-tank rockets at Israel since Friday.
But several bombs dropped by Israeli fighter jets struck near homes and police stations, made deep holes in some roads and damaged a generator, cutting electricity to thousands of homes, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.
Israeli warplanes also staged a series of mock raids, creating deafening sonic booms throughout the coastal strip.
Israel's bombings persisted despite international calls on both sides to show restraint and what appeared to be a respite in rocket launchings on Saturday.
In a statement, Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Youssef urged "immediate international intervention" to stop the raids.
In between the raids, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in Gaza threatening more strikes until there was "a total cessation of terror attacks." They also warned civilians to keep a distance from rocket launch sites and urged them to turn in militants.
Nine Palestinians, most of them militants, died in Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Thursday and Friday.
ARMS CRACKDOWN
In his statement, Youssef urged militants to adhere to an eight-month truce with Israel and vowed to crack down further against those bearing illegal arms.
"We will deal firmly and seriously with any foundry or workshop that manufactures weapons or explosives and also any place used as storage for arms," Youssef said.
"We will not enter Palestinian houses to search for arms, but we will not spare any effort to confiscate every weapon we find in the streets," he added.
A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said in a statement: "We urge the United States to work with the Israeli side for a ceasefire and to halt Israeli air strikes immediately in order to maintain the calm."
Israeli Deputy Premier Shimon Peres criticized Israel's failure to hold talks with Palestinian leaders despite the offensive again militants.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas only after Abbas took "serious action" against armed groups.
Abbas has sought to persuade militants to stick to a truce he called with Sharon last February rather than disarm them by force, which he fears could cause a civil war.
Peres told Israel Radio the militants were a common enemy of both Israel and the Palestinian leader.
"We must speak to Abu Mazen," Peres said, using a nickname for Abbas. Israel should "fight terror mercilessly and aggressively, and find ways to resume the peace process."
(Additional reporting by Atef Sa'ad in Nablus)
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