Middle East
Israel intercepts rockets from Gaza and launches airstrikes
Fire and smoke rise after an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza. photo
© Fatima Shbair/AP/dpa
After clashes between Israeli soldiers and militant Palestinians, observers warn of an escalation of the conflict. At night rockets fly first, then fighter planes are used.
According to Israel, on Friday night it used warplanes to attack an underground production facility for military rockets belonging to the radical Islamic group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said on Twitter that the attack was in response to two rockets fired from Palestinian territory. The two bullets were intercepted.
In southern Israel, the alarm sirens wailed at night. The Israeli media reported, citing political circles, that one had to be prepared for a possible escalation of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
According to Palestinian sources, ten people were killed in confrontations with the Israeli military in the West Bank on Thursday. Nine were killed in a raid in the city of Jenin that morning, according to the Ramallah Ministry of Health. Dozens more were injured, including four seriously. It was one of the deadliest military operations in the Palestinian Authority in years. In the afternoon, a 22-year-old man was shot dead north of Jerusalem during confrontations with Israeli soldiers.
The bloodshed fuels fears of a further escalation of the already tense security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
According to the Israeli military, the forces were fired on Thursday morning in Jenin while trying to arrest several members of the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad. Three armed suspects were hit by bullets in a firefight and others were arrested. The Palestinians are suspected of planning a terrorist attack, it said.
According to media reports, the dead included eight armed fighters and a 61-year-old woman. Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians.
Islamic Jihad is active in the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Authority announced in the evening that it would cooperate with Israel on security issues. The authority cited unilateral steps and measures taken by Israel in the West Bank and the incidents in Jenin as the reason. The autonomy authority had made similar announcements on previous occasions – but they were not actually implemented.
Islamic Jihad is particularly active in the Gaza Strip, from where it regularly carries out rocket attacks on Israel. In the summer, the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation against leading members of Islamic Jihad. They then had more than 1,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli towns. After three days of fighting, a ceasefire was agreed. More than 40 people had been killed and hundreds injured in the Gaza Strip.
situation remains tense
A statement by Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, said on Thursday: “The Israeli occupation will pay the price for the massacre in Jenin.” An answer will not be long in coming. Hamas is classified by the EU as a terrorist organization.
The situation in the West Bank has long been tense. Since a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians in the past year, the Israeli army has been carrying out more raids there. This year, 30 Palestinians have already been killed in connection with military operations or their own attacks, including five young people. Last year there were 172 – as many as last in 2006.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there today. The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab-influenced eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital.