The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
50°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Israel responds to mortar attacks

A Palestinian boy crouches amid the destruction as others search through the rubble of destroyed houses after an Israeli army raid in the Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Ibrahim Barzak Associated Press
A Palestinian boy crouches amid the destruction as others search through the rubble of destroyed houses after an Israeli army raid in the Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

DEIR EL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Mahmoud Abbas, the leading candidate for Palestinian president, called on militants Sunday to stop firing rockets at Israel, as Israeli tanks and troops massed in northern Gaza in response to the latest barrage.

A poll released Sunday showed Abbas with the backing of two-thirds of his people, three times the support of his nearest rival before a Jan. 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat. Still, the candidate with the gray, bureaucratic image spent the day courting those who have disparaged him in the past – young militants.

As Israeli tanks gathered nearby, Abbas expressed his support for the gunmen – viewed as resistance heroes by Palestinians and as terrorists by Israel – at a campaign rally at a school in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya.

However, he also criticized the rocket fire.

“Don’t let your actions be used as an additional pretext and excuse for them (Israel) to fight us, because this is not the proper time for such actions,” Abbas said.

The Israelis sent forces into northern Gaza on Sunday after Palestinian militants fired mortars at the Erez industrial zone next to the main Gaza-Israel checkpoint and rockets at Sderot, a town just outside the Gaza fence, wounding several Israelis.

The military said the goal was to stop the rocket and mortar fire. But after nightfall, the military pulled back to positions overlooking northern Gaza, the military said.

A Palestinian cameraman working for an Israeli TV station was shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza, Palestinians and local media said. The military had no immediate comment.

The new raid came as Israeli troops pulled out of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, ending a three-day operation to target militants firing the homemade rockets and mortars at Jewish settlements.

The army said it killed 13 armed Palestinians during the three-day operation. Palestinian officials put the number at 11 and said nine of them were armed.

Israel plans to pull out of Gaza in the summer, but violence is expected to escalate. Militants want to show they are forcing the Israelis out, while Israel wants to deal a blow to the violent groups.