30 aug 2012
Palestinian Killed By Police Fire In Tel Aviv
Palestinian Killed By Police Fire In Tel Aviv
Israeli daily, Maariv, reported that an Israeli policeman shot and killed, on Wednesday at night, a 33-year-old Palestinian man in Tel Aviv. The off-duty policeman claimed that the Palestinian was attempting to steal a car, and that he threatened him with a knife after officer tried to arrest him.
The paper said that an initial investigation revealed that the policeman noticed “suspicious activities” near his home, and saw two persons trying to steal a car parked nearby.
The Policeman claimed that he tried to apprehend the two persons, but one of them pulled a knife and tried to attack him, “an issue that forced him to open fire at him”, according to the report.
The Palestinian is from Tulkarem city, in the northern part of the West Bank; Israel says he was staying in Tel Aviv without a permit, and that he has a criminal record.
Maariv said that the policeman contacted his attorney for consultation, and will be submitting his deposition today, Thursday.
It is worth mentioning that an Israeli court recently convicted an Israeli police officer who shot and killed “a car thief” in Tel Aviv.
Israel police: Palestinian killed after knife threat
Witness: "The cop called the police, yelling, 'I shot him, he's dead, he's dead.'"
An off-duty Israeli police officer shot dead a Palestinian man in Tel Aviv early Thursday, saying he had been threatened with a knife.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the officer saw the Palestinian, from Tulkarem in the West Bank, trying to rob a car.
When the policeman approached him, the suspected car thief pulled out a knife and the officer fired a shot at him, Rosenfeld said.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a witness saying: "We heard a man yelling at another man to freeze. A few seconds later, we saw the same cop shooting at the man, who was running away. The cop called the police, yelling, 'I shot him, he's dead, he's dead.'"
The Palestinian man was taken to Israeli hospital but died of his wounds, Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld said a knife had been found at the scene, but police would conduct a standard inquiry into the officer's conduct.
Israeli policeman kills Palestinian in Tel Aviv
An Israeli policeman shot and killed a Palestinian man in his thirties in Tel Aviv at midnight Wednesday, Radio Israel reported on Thursday.
It said that the man was from Tulkarem and had no permission to be in Tel Aviv, adding that the policeman detected the presence of the two men near his house and suspected their presence there.
It claimed that the policeman flashed his ID and tried to arrest them but a quarrel ensued and one of the two Palestinians brandished a knife prompting the policeman to shoot him.
The paper said that an initial investigation revealed that the policeman noticed “suspicious activities” near his home, and saw two persons trying to steal a car parked nearby.
The Policeman claimed that he tried to apprehend the two persons, but one of them pulled a knife and tried to attack him, “an issue that forced him to open fire at him”, according to the report.
The Palestinian is from Tulkarem city, in the northern part of the West Bank; Israel says he was staying in Tel Aviv without a permit, and that he has a criminal record.
Maariv said that the policeman contacted his attorney for consultation, and will be submitting his deposition today, Thursday.
It is worth mentioning that an Israeli court recently convicted an Israeli police officer who shot and killed “a car thief” in Tel Aviv.
Israel police: Palestinian killed after knife threat
Witness: "The cop called the police, yelling, 'I shot him, he's dead, he's dead.'"
An off-duty Israeli police officer shot dead a Palestinian man in Tel Aviv early Thursday, saying he had been threatened with a knife.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the officer saw the Palestinian, from Tulkarem in the West Bank, trying to rob a car.
When the policeman approached him, the suspected car thief pulled out a knife and the officer fired a shot at him, Rosenfeld said.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a witness saying: "We heard a man yelling at another man to freeze. A few seconds later, we saw the same cop shooting at the man, who was running away. The cop called the police, yelling, 'I shot him, he's dead, he's dead.'"
The Palestinian man was taken to Israeli hospital but died of his wounds, Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld said a knife had been found at the scene, but police would conduct a standard inquiry into the officer's conduct.
Israeli policeman kills Palestinian in Tel Aviv
An Israeli policeman shot and killed a Palestinian man in his thirties in Tel Aviv at midnight Wednesday, Radio Israel reported on Thursday.
It said that the man was from Tulkarem and had no permission to be in Tel Aviv, adding that the policeman detected the presence of the two men near his house and suspected their presence there.
It claimed that the policeman flashed his ID and tried to arrest them but a quarrel ensued and one of the two Palestinians brandished a knife prompting the policeman to shoot him.
Ibrahim Owida Nasser
A member of the Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad has been killed in an Israel drone attack inside Egypt, security sources say.
According Egyptian security sources in northern Sinai, Ibrahim Owida Nasser was hit by a missile fired by an Israeli drone on Sunday while riding his motorcycle in the Bedouin area south of the village of Al-Kasia, about 15 kilometers far from the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Nasser had been detained briefly last week as part of a sweeping military crackdown in the Sinai Peninsula. The crackdown came after gunmen killed 16 soldiers and injured many others in an attack on a border outpost on August 5.
Palestinian sources have quoted Egyptian officials as saying that Tel Aviv decided to carry out assassination drone attacks inside Egypt after Cairo failed to counter gunmen in the Sinai region near Egypt’s border with Israel and was forced to agree a deal with them.
Hundreds of Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli drone attacks in Gaza. But Israel's targeted killings in Egypt are almost rare.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 825 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli drone strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past five years.
The group also said that most of the victims had been targeted mistakenly or caught in the shrapnel shower resulting from the strikes.
On August 5, Eid Hijazi, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, was killed in an Israeli drone attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Another person was also injured in the attack.
A member of the Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad has been killed in an Israel drone attack inside Egypt, security sources say.
According Egyptian security sources in northern Sinai, Ibrahim Owida Nasser was hit by a missile fired by an Israeli drone on Sunday while riding his motorcycle in the Bedouin area south of the village of Al-Kasia, about 15 kilometers far from the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Nasser had been detained briefly last week as part of a sweeping military crackdown in the Sinai Peninsula. The crackdown came after gunmen killed 16 soldiers and injured many others in an attack on a border outpost on August 5.
Palestinian sources have quoted Egyptian officials as saying that Tel Aviv decided to carry out assassination drone attacks inside Egypt after Cairo failed to counter gunmen in the Sinai region near Egypt’s border with Israel and was forced to agree a deal with them.
Hundreds of Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli drone attacks in Gaza. But Israel's targeted killings in Egypt are almost rare.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 825 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli drone strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past five years.
The group also said that most of the victims had been targeted mistakenly or caught in the shrapnel shower resulting from the strikes.
On August 5, Eid Hijazi, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, was killed in an Israeli drone attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Another person was also injured in the attack.
10 aug 2012
Border guard killed by comrade's stray bullet
Border guard killed by comrade's stray bullet
Shooting instructor, 21, shot in the chest during training session; pronounced dead at hospital
A Border Guard shooting instructor was killed on Thursday by a stray bullet fired by another officer.
The incident occurred during rookie training at a base in Binyamin.
Haim Halsetzy, 21, of Netanya was shot in the chest and was subsequently rushed to the Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Commander Yoram Halevi has ordered all Border Guard training activities to be halted pending an investigation into the incident.
Halsetzy is survived by his parents and brother, who were informed of his death. A similar incident occurred in October 2011, when an IDF soldier was seriously injured by a stray bullet fired in a bus transporting troops.
A Border Guard shooting instructor was killed on Thursday by a stray bullet fired by another officer.
The incident occurred during rookie training at a base in Binyamin.
Haim Halsetzy, 21, of Netanya was shot in the chest and was subsequently rushed to the Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Commander Yoram Halevi has ordered all Border Guard training activities to be halted pending an investigation into the incident.
Halsetzy is survived by his parents and brother, who were informed of his death. A similar incident occurred in October 2011, when an IDF soldier was seriously injured by a stray bullet fired in a bus transporting troops.
6 aug 2012
Two Killed In Crash As Army Chased Their Car
Two Killed In Crash As Army Chased Their Car
Jassem Hussein As-Safi
Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported that two residents were killed at midnight Sunday, and two others were injured, after their car crashed while being pursued by Israeli soldiers in Ar-Ramadeen area, near Ath-Thaheriyya town, south of Hebron.
Local sources reported that the residents were trying to drive into Israel, where they worked apparently without work permits, but the army noticed their vehicle and chased it.
One of the killed residents was identified as Jassem Hussein As-Safi, from Kharsa town, south of Hebron, one of the wounded was identified as Hatem As-Sayyad.
Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported that two residents were killed at midnight Sunday, and two others were injured, after their car crashed while being pursued by Israeli soldiers in Ar-Ramadeen area, near Ath-Thaheriyya town, south of Hebron.
Local sources reported that the residents were trying to drive into Israel, where they worked apparently without work permits, but the army noticed their vehicle and chased it.
One of the killed residents was identified as Jassem Hussein As-Safi, from Kharsa town, south of Hebron, one of the wounded was identified as Hatem As-Sayyad.
At least 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed, on Sunday evening, while several others were wounded, when gunmen attacked an Egyptian military base in Sinai. The Israeli army also killed seven gunmen, allegedly Palestinian, who reportedly hijacked a military vehicle from the Egyptian military base and attempted to drive through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) Israeli crossing.
The attack took place near border marker number 6, south of the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem crossings.
Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen infiltrated into the Egyptian military base in the evening as Egyptian soldiers have just started eating following a long day of fasting as the Muslims are marking the holy month of Ramadan.
Egyptian military sources told the Palestinian Maan News Agency that “a major terrorist attack targeted an Egyptian military base near the Kerem Shalom Crossing”, and that “Jihadist groups, driving vehicles equipped with automatic weapons and RPG launchers, attacked the base, and managed to kidnap a number of Egyptian soldiers”, according to the sources.
Meanwhile, Israeli military sources claimed that the army “foiled an attempted attack by Palestinian gunmen who tried to infiltrate into Israel through the Kerem Shalom Crossing using the Egyptian military vehicles that were hijacked during the attack against the Egyptian military base”.
The sources added that four gunmen were killed when their hijacked armored vehicle exploded, while three more gunmen were killed when an Israeli missile struck their vehicle. The army sealed the area and scanned it searching for gunmen.
The army further instructed Israeli residents of nearby areas to refrain from leaving their homes, and to follow all instructions by the military.
The Israeli military deployed dozens of military vehicles and soldiers along the border area with Egypt and Gaza, while military helicopters conducted several flights searching for potential infiltrators.
An Israeli military spokesperson denied reports claiming that the gunmen managed to abduct Israeli soldiers, and claimed that the gunmen who attacked the Israeli military base “infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip”.
Also, Israel decided to close the Kerem Shalom Crossing until further notice, while Egypt decided to close the Rafah Border Terminal also until further notice.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli military vehicles, based east of the crossing, fired at least ten shells into areas in southern Gaza, and also fired dozens of flares around the crossing; no injuries were reported.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Safwat Az-Zayyat of the Egyptian army, denied Israeli reports claiming that the attack was carried out by jihadist groups, and said that “the escalation on the border was planned by Israel in order to cause rift between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and to destabilize the situation in Egypt”.
Egyptian President, Mohammad Morsi, called for an urgent meeting with the Egyptian Military Council, while Egypt’s Tourism Minister, Hisham Za’zou’, said that this attack was carried out to sabotage the Egyptian efforts to restore tourism in the country.
In a live statement after midnight, Morsi stated that the Egyptian army and the security forces have been instructed to pursue and apprehend the assailants, wherever they are, and said that “the killers, and anyone who helped them, will pay a heavy price for their crime”.
The Al-Jazeera news agency, based in Qatar, stated that Morsi also held a meeting with the Egyptian Defense Minister, Mohammad Tantawi, along with leaders of the Egyptian Military Council.
Also, an Egyptian security source said that the Egyptian army has the bodies of three assailants who were killed while trying to infiltrate into the Kerem Shalom Israeli Crossing.
The Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip denounced the attack against the Egyptian military base describing it as an “ugly and cowardice criminal attack”. It also sent its condolences to the families of the slain soldiers, the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people.
The Hamas-led government in Gaza, and several Palestinian factions, also strongly denounced the attack, and said that it “only serves the Israeli interests”.
On his Facebook page, Mousa Abu Marzouq, deputy head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, strongly denounced the attack against the Egyptian military base, and hinted that Israel is behind the attack also hinting that the Israeli military killed the assailants to cover any tracks of Israeli involvement.
Abu Marzouq further stated that “this attack was carried out shortly after Israel started talking about the lack of security in Sinai, and after it issued warnings about a planned attack along the border area, in addition to instructing its residents not to head to Egypt.
Two days ago, Israel instructed all Israeli tourists to leave Sinai after receiving intelligence information about attacks “planned by Jihadist groups operating in Sinai”.
Barak, Netanyahu tour Kerem Shalom attack site
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have arrived at the Amitai base near the Egyptian border to visit the troops that thwarted the terror attack at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday night.
"You prepared and acted correctly," said Netanyahu. "I would like to express my condolences over the deaths of the Egyptian soldiers. Obviously Israel and Egypt have a common interest in keeping the border quiet."
Gantz on terror attack: 15 minutes from start to finish
Touring scene of Kerem Shalom crossing attack, army chief praises swift response, cooperation between forces. Egyptian official: Israel violated our sovereignty.
On the morning after the attack at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the IDF is patting itself on the back for its accurate intelligence and swift assassination of the terror cell which infiltrated Israel Sunday night.
With the threat to the border fence increasing daily, it is becoming apparent that diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Egypt is needed in order to halt the extremist Jihad terror cells in the Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt's new Prime Minister Hesham Kandil has stressed that he would work together with the Egyptian army and interior ministry to "avenge the blood of those killed."
On Monday Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz toured the scene of the attack with Brigadier General Tal Russo who reconstructed the events: "The vehicle met with an (IDF) force at every point it tried to infiltrate," he said speaking of the Egyptian armored vehicle stolen by the terrorists.
"There were quite a few clashes before (the vehicle) was destroyed. Armored forces, the Air Force and infantry forces closed in (on the vehicle) and eventually it was destroyed from the air and on the ground.
"Those who attempted to escape and fire at the forces after (the vehicle) was destroyed, were also eliminated," said Brigadier General Russo of the terrorists who tried to escape the armored vehicle.
"On the whole there was a great deal of cooperation together with excellent cooperation between the forces," he added.
Gantz added: "Before the debriefings are completed, I can see that a massive disaster was prevented – a very complex terror attack carried out by terrorists connected between Sinai and Gaza, in a very well carried out operation that combined the intelligence forces, Air Force, armored ground forces, infantry and the Shin Bet."
Rafah surrounded
According to the chief of staff, the handling of the incident was amazing in that the entire episode was over within 15 minutes and within that timeframe everyone integrated to work together seamlessly.
Meanwhile, Egyptian media reported that Egyptian army units have "completely surrounded" the city of Rafah (on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza) as part of the effort to apprehend suspects in the terror attack that killed 16 Egyptian policemen and injured about seven others Sunday evening, the Al-Ahram news outlet quoted a security official as saying.
In a report published on Al-Ahram's online edition Monday morning, the security source is quoted as saying that Egyptian army helicopters, accompanied by ground forces, have launched a manhunt for the suspects in the deadly attack on an Egyptian police station in the northern Sinai Peninsula, near the border with Israel.
The forces have surrounded Rafah to prevent the suspects from escaping, the report said.
Also Monday, Egypt's minister for parliamentary affairs Mohamed Mahsoub has demanded that the Sinai security arrangements be reexamined following the terror attack near the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Monday.
Mahsoub, who made the statement in a tweet, added that "Egypt would regain its honor on every centimeter of its land."
Hamdeen Sabahi, who placed third in the Egyptian presidential elections as the revolutionists' candidate, criticized Israel for attacking terrorists inside Egyptian territory. He said Israel acted with complete disregard for Egypt's sovereignty in the region.
Sabahi also called for a reexamination of Egypt's security arrangements with Israel, which he claimed was needed in order for Egypt to maintain full sovereignty over Sinai.
The attack took place near border marker number 6, south of the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem crossings.
Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen infiltrated into the Egyptian military base in the evening as Egyptian soldiers have just started eating following a long day of fasting as the Muslims are marking the holy month of Ramadan.
Egyptian military sources told the Palestinian Maan News Agency that “a major terrorist attack targeted an Egyptian military base near the Kerem Shalom Crossing”, and that “Jihadist groups, driving vehicles equipped with automatic weapons and RPG launchers, attacked the base, and managed to kidnap a number of Egyptian soldiers”, according to the sources.
Meanwhile, Israeli military sources claimed that the army “foiled an attempted attack by Palestinian gunmen who tried to infiltrate into Israel through the Kerem Shalom Crossing using the Egyptian military vehicles that were hijacked during the attack against the Egyptian military base”.
The sources added that four gunmen were killed when their hijacked armored vehicle exploded, while three more gunmen were killed when an Israeli missile struck their vehicle. The army sealed the area and scanned it searching for gunmen.
The army further instructed Israeli residents of nearby areas to refrain from leaving their homes, and to follow all instructions by the military.
The Israeli military deployed dozens of military vehicles and soldiers along the border area with Egypt and Gaza, while military helicopters conducted several flights searching for potential infiltrators.
An Israeli military spokesperson denied reports claiming that the gunmen managed to abduct Israeli soldiers, and claimed that the gunmen who attacked the Israeli military base “infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip”.
Also, Israel decided to close the Kerem Shalom Crossing until further notice, while Egypt decided to close the Rafah Border Terminal also until further notice.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli military vehicles, based east of the crossing, fired at least ten shells into areas in southern Gaza, and also fired dozens of flares around the crossing; no injuries were reported.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Safwat Az-Zayyat of the Egyptian army, denied Israeli reports claiming that the attack was carried out by jihadist groups, and said that “the escalation on the border was planned by Israel in order to cause rift between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and to destabilize the situation in Egypt”.
Egyptian President, Mohammad Morsi, called for an urgent meeting with the Egyptian Military Council, while Egypt’s Tourism Minister, Hisham Za’zou’, said that this attack was carried out to sabotage the Egyptian efforts to restore tourism in the country.
In a live statement after midnight, Morsi stated that the Egyptian army and the security forces have been instructed to pursue and apprehend the assailants, wherever they are, and said that “the killers, and anyone who helped them, will pay a heavy price for their crime”.
The Al-Jazeera news agency, based in Qatar, stated that Morsi also held a meeting with the Egyptian Defense Minister, Mohammad Tantawi, along with leaders of the Egyptian Military Council.
Also, an Egyptian security source said that the Egyptian army has the bodies of three assailants who were killed while trying to infiltrate into the Kerem Shalom Israeli Crossing.
The Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip denounced the attack against the Egyptian military base describing it as an “ugly and cowardice criminal attack”. It also sent its condolences to the families of the slain soldiers, the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people.
The Hamas-led government in Gaza, and several Palestinian factions, also strongly denounced the attack, and said that it “only serves the Israeli interests”.
On his Facebook page, Mousa Abu Marzouq, deputy head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, strongly denounced the attack against the Egyptian military base, and hinted that Israel is behind the attack also hinting that the Israeli military killed the assailants to cover any tracks of Israeli involvement.
Abu Marzouq further stated that “this attack was carried out shortly after Israel started talking about the lack of security in Sinai, and after it issued warnings about a planned attack along the border area, in addition to instructing its residents not to head to Egypt.
Two days ago, Israel instructed all Israeli tourists to leave Sinai after receiving intelligence information about attacks “planned by Jihadist groups operating in Sinai”.
Barak, Netanyahu tour Kerem Shalom attack site
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have arrived at the Amitai base near the Egyptian border to visit the troops that thwarted the terror attack at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday night.
"You prepared and acted correctly," said Netanyahu. "I would like to express my condolences over the deaths of the Egyptian soldiers. Obviously Israel and Egypt have a common interest in keeping the border quiet."
Gantz on terror attack: 15 minutes from start to finish
Touring scene of Kerem Shalom crossing attack, army chief praises swift response, cooperation between forces. Egyptian official: Israel violated our sovereignty.
On the morning after the attack at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the IDF is patting itself on the back for its accurate intelligence and swift assassination of the terror cell which infiltrated Israel Sunday night.
With the threat to the border fence increasing daily, it is becoming apparent that diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Egypt is needed in order to halt the extremist Jihad terror cells in the Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt's new Prime Minister Hesham Kandil has stressed that he would work together with the Egyptian army and interior ministry to "avenge the blood of those killed."
On Monday Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz toured the scene of the attack with Brigadier General Tal Russo who reconstructed the events: "The vehicle met with an (IDF) force at every point it tried to infiltrate," he said speaking of the Egyptian armored vehicle stolen by the terrorists.
"There were quite a few clashes before (the vehicle) was destroyed. Armored forces, the Air Force and infantry forces closed in (on the vehicle) and eventually it was destroyed from the air and on the ground.
"Those who attempted to escape and fire at the forces after (the vehicle) was destroyed, were also eliminated," said Brigadier General Russo of the terrorists who tried to escape the armored vehicle.
"On the whole there was a great deal of cooperation together with excellent cooperation between the forces," he added.
Gantz added: "Before the debriefings are completed, I can see that a massive disaster was prevented – a very complex terror attack carried out by terrorists connected between Sinai and Gaza, in a very well carried out operation that combined the intelligence forces, Air Force, armored ground forces, infantry and the Shin Bet."
Rafah surrounded
According to the chief of staff, the handling of the incident was amazing in that the entire episode was over within 15 minutes and within that timeframe everyone integrated to work together seamlessly.
Meanwhile, Egyptian media reported that Egyptian army units have "completely surrounded" the city of Rafah (on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza) as part of the effort to apprehend suspects in the terror attack that killed 16 Egyptian policemen and injured about seven others Sunday evening, the Al-Ahram news outlet quoted a security official as saying.
In a report published on Al-Ahram's online edition Monday morning, the security source is quoted as saying that Egyptian army helicopters, accompanied by ground forces, have launched a manhunt for the suspects in the deadly attack on an Egyptian police station in the northern Sinai Peninsula, near the border with Israel.
The forces have surrounded Rafah to prevent the suspects from escaping, the report said.
Also Monday, Egypt's minister for parliamentary affairs Mohamed Mahsoub has demanded that the Sinai security arrangements be reexamined following the terror attack near the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Monday.
Mahsoub, who made the statement in a tweet, added that "Egypt would regain its honor on every centimeter of its land."
Hamdeen Sabahi, who placed third in the Egyptian presidential elections as the revolutionists' candidate, criticized Israel for attacking terrorists inside Egyptian territory. He said Israel acted with complete disregard for Egypt's sovereignty in the region.
Sabahi also called for a reexamination of Egypt's security arrangements with Israel, which he claimed was needed in order for Egypt to maintain full sovereignty over Sinai.
Eid Hijazi Oakal, 22
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported, Sunday, that one resident was killed and several others were wounded, when an Israeli drone fired one missile targeting a motorcycle rider in Rafah, in the southern part of the coastal region.
The slain resident was identified as Eid Hijazi Oakal, 22, another resident, a passenger on the motorcycle, was seriously injured.
An Israeli military spokesperson stated that the strike targeted a senior resistance fighter who allegedly participated in an attack carried out last month on the border with Egypt, in Sinai, leading to the death of a construction worker participating in the construction of the border wall with Egypt.
The spokesperson added that the slain fighter and his companion were planning an attack against an Israeli military target along the border with Egypt.
In related news, Israeli soldiers, based along the border with Gaza, fired on Sunday evening several shells targeting an area east of Rafah; no damages or injuries were reported.
Medics: Israeli airstrike kills man in Gaza
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported, Sunday, that one resident was killed and several others were wounded, when an Israeli drone fired one missile targeting a motorcycle rider in Rafah, in the southern part of the coastal region.
The slain resident was identified as Eid Hijazi Oakal, 22, another resident, a passenger on the motorcycle, was seriously injured.
An Israeli military spokesperson stated that the strike targeted a senior resistance fighter who allegedly participated in an attack carried out last month on the border with Egypt, in Sinai, leading to the death of a construction worker participating in the construction of the border wall with Egypt.
The spokesperson added that the slain fighter and his companion were planning an attack against an Israeli military target along the border with Egypt.
In related news, Israeli soldiers, based along the border with Gaza, fired on Sunday evening several shells targeting an area east of Rafah; no damages or injuries were reported.
Medics: Israeli airstrike kills man in Gaza
The father of Abed Hijazi mourns after his son was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza on Aug. 5
One man was killed and another wounded by an Israeli airstrike targeting a motorbike in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, medics said. Abed Okel Hijazi, 22, was killed in the strike west of Rafah, director of ambulance and emergency services Yahya Said Khader told Ma'an.
Hospital officials said they identified the dead man as a former member of the Popular Resistance Committees militant group who had shifted allegiance to "Magles Shoura al-Mujahddin", among Salafi factions that are a fringe presence in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
A group by the same name took responsibility for a guerrilla raid from the Egyptian Sinai into Israel in June which killed an Israeli who was helping erect a border fence. Israel's army said in statement that one of the men targeted "was among those responsible for the execution of the terror attack adjacent to the Israel-Egypt border, in which an Israeli civilian was killed."
In June, Israeli airstrikes killed eight Palestinians over three days of heavy shelling, as Hamas' military wing signed up to a truce mediated by Egypt.
Palestinian killed in Israeli air raid
A Palestinian youth was killed and a number of others were wounded in an Israeli aerial raid on western Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, at noon Sunday.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that an Israeli reconnaissance plane fired at least one missile at a motorbike killing its driver instantly and wounding a number of passersby.
They said that the raid targeted fighters for the popular resistance committees.
Medical sources said that the martyr was 23-year-old Eid Hijazi.
One man was killed and another wounded by an Israeli airstrike targeting a motorbike in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, medics said. Abed Okel Hijazi, 22, was killed in the strike west of Rafah, director of ambulance and emergency services Yahya Said Khader told Ma'an.
Hospital officials said they identified the dead man as a former member of the Popular Resistance Committees militant group who had shifted allegiance to "Magles Shoura al-Mujahddin", among Salafi factions that are a fringe presence in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
A group by the same name took responsibility for a guerrilla raid from the Egyptian Sinai into Israel in June which killed an Israeli who was helping erect a border fence. Israel's army said in statement that one of the men targeted "was among those responsible for the execution of the terror attack adjacent to the Israel-Egypt border, in which an Israeli civilian was killed."
In June, Israeli airstrikes killed eight Palestinians over three days of heavy shelling, as Hamas' military wing signed up to a truce mediated by Egypt.
Palestinian killed in Israeli air raid
A Palestinian youth was killed and a number of others were wounded in an Israeli aerial raid on western Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, at noon Sunday.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that an Israeli reconnaissance plane fired at least one missile at a motorbike killing its driver instantly and wounding a number of passersby.
They said that the raid targeted fighters for the popular resistance committees.
Medical sources said that the martyr was 23-year-old Eid Hijazi.
GUNMEN
have killed 15 guards in Egypt near the border with Israel before
stealing armoured vehicles and crossing into the Jewish state where one
vehicle was destroyed by a helicopter.
President Mohamed Morsi has called an emergency meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following the attack, the state broadcaster reported today.
An Egyptian medical official said gunmen in Bedouin attire drove up in two vehicles and opened fire on a checkpoint near the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom in Hebrew) border crossing and opened fire.
The health ministry said 15 border guards were killed, while a security official said another seven were wounded.
The official MENA news agency said the gunmen were "jihadists" from inside the Islamist Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
State television and MENA reported that Egypt was closing its Rafah frontier crossing with the Gaza Strip "until further notice".
In Israel, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich told reporters gunmen had hijacked two vehicles from an Egyptian outpost where they had killed between 10 and 15 border guards before crossing the frontier.
One of the vehicles exploded by itself and the other was destroyed from the air, and the Israeli military was searching for any remaining gunmen, she said.
She did not know how many had been on board the vehicles and if any had survived.
Israeli public radio said the vehicle had been targeted by a helicopter and that three "terrorists" on board had been killed.
Leibovich confirmed that that incident had taken place in the Kerem Shalom area.
"A few of the people who manned the vehicles started running away. We targeted them," she said.
Residents of the nearby Israeli communities had been ordered to stay inside their homes until further notice, she added.
There were no Israeli civilians or soldiers wounded in the incident.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed "the determined action of the military" and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet "for ensuring the failure of a large attack on Israeli civilians."
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement: "The way these attackers acted again shows the need for the Egyptian authorities to act firmly to re-establish security and fight terrorism in the Sinai".
Leibovich said it was too early to determine the gunmen's affiliation or what they were trying to do, but "one of the assumptions is they were trying to kidnap Israeli soldiers".
MENA however identified the gunmen as "jihadists" from the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
"Jihadist elements infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels in collaboration with jihadist elements in the Al-Mahdiya and Gabal Halal areas" inside Egypt, the agency said.
They "attacked a border post while the soldiers and officers were taking iftar," the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, it cited added, quoting an unidentified official.
Earlier today, before MENA's report, Hamas in Gaza had dismissed the idea that militants from the Palestinian territory may have been involved.
"The border between Egypt and Gaza is protected. We closed the tunnels (used for smuggling) to prevent anyone from escaping (into Gaza) and we have put our forces on alert," an interior ministry spokesman said.
"We reject any idea that Gaza was involved in this incident and we send our condolences over the killing of Egyptian soldiers."
A Hamas statement said: "We condemn this ugly crime in which Egyptian soldiers were killed, and send our condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people."
Sinai-based Islamist militants are believed to have been responsible for several rocket attacks against Israel.
Israel has accused them of having carried out a cross-border ambush last year that killed nine Israelis, and they have also been blamed for regular bombings of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan.
Gunmen kill 16 Egypt border guards, enter Israel
Gunmen on Sunday killed 16 guards in Egypt near the border with Israel before stealing two armoured vehicles and crossing into the Jewish state where one vehicle was destroyed by a helicopter.
An Egyptian medical official said gunmen in Bedouin attire drove up in two vehicles and opened fire on a checkpoint near the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom in Hebrew) border crossing and opened fire.
The health ministry said 16 border guards were killed, while a security official said another seven were wounded.
The official MENA news agency said the gunmen were "jihadists" from inside the Islamist Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
State television and MENA reported that Egypt was closing its Rafah frontier crossing with the Gaza Strip "until further notice".
President Mohamed Morsi called an emergency meeting with military and security officials after the attack, his spokesman Yasser Ali said.
Morsi, who only took the oath of office on June 30 to become the country's first freely elected leader and its first head of state since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year, said in a statement those behind the "cowardly" attack would pay it dearly.
"President Morsi says that this cowardly attack will not go without a response ... and that those who committed this crime will pay it dearly," said the statement, carried by the official MENA news agency.
In Israel, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich told reporters gunmen hijacked two vehicles from an Egyptian outpost where they killed between 10 and 15 border guards before crossing the frontier.
One of the vehicles exploded by itself and the other was destroyed from the air, and the Israeli military was searching for any remaining gunmen, she said.
She did not know how many had been on board the vehicles and if any had survived.
Israeli public radio said the vehicle had been targeted by a helicopter and that three "terrorists" on board had been killed.
Leibovich confirmed that the incident had taken place in the Kerem Shalom area.
"A few of the people who manned the vehicles started running away. We targeted them," she said.
Residents of the nearby Israeli communities had been ordered to stay inside their homes until further notice, she added.
No Israeli civilians or soldiers were wounded in the incident.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed "the determined action of the military" and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet "for ensuring the failure of a large attack on Israeli civilians".
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement: "The way these attackers acted again shows the need for the Egyptian authorities to act firmly to re-establish security and fight terrorism in the Sinai."
Leibovich said it was too early to determine the gunmen's affiliation or what they were trying to do, but "one of the assumptions is they were trying to kidnap Israeli soldiers".
MENA however identified the gunmen as "jihadists" from the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
"Jihadist elements infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels in collaboration with jihadist elements in the Al-Mahdiya and Gabal Halal areas" inside Egypt, the agency said.
They "attacked a border post while the soldiers and officers were taking iftar," the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, it added, quoting an unidentified official.
Earlier Sunday, before MENA's report, Hamas in Gaza had dismissed the idea that militants from the Palestinian territory may have been involved.
"The border between Egypt and Gaza is protected. We closed the tunnels (used for smuggling) to prevent anyone from escaping (into Gaza) and we have put our forces on alert," an interior ministry spokesman said.
"We reject any idea that Gaza was involved in this incident and we send our condolences over the killing of Egyptian soldiers."
A Hamas statement said: "We condemn this ugly crime in which Egyptian soldiers were killed, and send our condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people."
Sinai-based Islamist militants are believed to have been responsible for several rocket attacks against Israel.
Israel accused them of having carried out a cross-border ambush last year that killed nine Israelis, and they have also been blamed for regular bombings of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan.
The Sinai is home to Egypt's Red Sea resorts, a source of lucrative tourist income, and is also where the country's Bedouin, long marginalised under the regime of fallen strongman Mubarak, are based.
On July 19, gunmen believed to be Islamist militants shot dead two Egyptian soldiers in a dawn attack in north Sinai.
The attack came after Islamist militants distributed pamphlets calling on the army to leave the lawless north of the peninsula, where they had been brought in to restore security.
The attack was in Sheikh Zuwaid, a town roughly 15 kilometres (10 miles) west of the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip.
The military sent tanks and soldiers into the region last year to quell Islamist militants, after receiving permission from Israel. Under a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Egypt should have a limited military presence in the area.
Egyptian police killed in attack on Israeli border
Unidentified gunmen have attacked a checkpoint on the Egyptian-Israeli border, killing at least 15 Egyptian policemen, officials say.
Israel said the heavily armed attackers, in two vehicles, then tried to smash their way across the border.
One vehicle apparently blew up at the North Sinai crossing, while the other was destroyed by the Israeli air force.
It is not clear who carried out the raid. Egyptian state television blamed Islamist militants.
The country's state news agency quoted a top security official who said the gunmen were "jihadists" who had infiltrated from the Gaza Strip.
Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak said his country's security forces had "thwarted an attack that could have injured many".
"The militants' attack methods again raise the need for determined Egyptian action to enforce security and prevent terror in the Sinai," he said in a statement.
Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi held an emergency meeting with military and security officials after the attack.
In a statement read on state media, he described it as cowardly and said those behind it would "pay for it dearly".
He urged the authorities to take measures to "confront this serious challenge to Egyptian sovereignty and to protect Sinai from all armed groups".
At least seven other Egyptian policemen were wounded in the attack, security officials said. It is unclear how many militants were involved or how many were killed.
Security fears
Egyptian and Israeli forces say they are searching for any other gunmen who may have escaped. Israeli civilians in the area have been told to stay inside their homes.
The Rafah border crossing with Israel has shut indefinitely, Egyptian state television says.
The attack on the border post close to the Gaza Strip and Israel took place around sunset, just as the guards had stopped work for the traditional iftar meal, which breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Masked gunmen dressed as bedouin opened fire on police with guns and rocket-propelled grenades before driving off with an armoured vehicle, Egyptian state television said.
In Israel a military spokeswoman said two vehicles had been taken at its Kerem Shalom crossing.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says the attack will be seen as more worrying evidence that Islamist militants have a firm foothold in the restive Northern Sinai region.
They have been blamed for several rocket attacks against Israel and a cross-border raid that killed nine Israelis last year.
Recently there have also been repeated attacks on the pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan. Last month two Egyptian soldiers were shot dead.
Egypt's military sent extra tanks and troops into the Sinai last year. The terms had to be agreed with Israel under the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, our correspondent says.
Islamists Kill 15 Egyptians on Israeli Border
Islamists gunned down at least 15 Egyptian police officers and stole an army tank today in an attack on a Sinai police station close to the Israeli border, Reuters reports. Israeli aircraft responded by destroying a vehicle used by the attackers; another of their vehicles exploded at the North Sinai crossing, the BBC reports. It was the deadliest attack in the region in at least 20 years.
Israeli officials and Egyptian media blamed the attack on Islamist militants, a notion dismissed by Hamas in Gaza, AFP reports. The incident will likely force Israel and Egypt to engage diplomatically at a delicate time, when Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, has just taken power. It could also strain Egypt's relations with Hamas if Palestinian gunmen are held responsible for the attack.
President Mohamed Morsi has called an emergency meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following the attack, the state broadcaster reported today.
An Egyptian medical official said gunmen in Bedouin attire drove up in two vehicles and opened fire on a checkpoint near the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom in Hebrew) border crossing and opened fire.
The health ministry said 15 border guards were killed, while a security official said another seven were wounded.
The official MENA news agency said the gunmen were "jihadists" from inside the Islamist Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
State television and MENA reported that Egypt was closing its Rafah frontier crossing with the Gaza Strip "until further notice".
In Israel, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich told reporters gunmen had hijacked two vehicles from an Egyptian outpost where they had killed between 10 and 15 border guards before crossing the frontier.
One of the vehicles exploded by itself and the other was destroyed from the air, and the Israeli military was searching for any remaining gunmen, she said.
She did not know how many had been on board the vehicles and if any had survived.
Israeli public radio said the vehicle had been targeted by a helicopter and that three "terrorists" on board had been killed.
Leibovich confirmed that that incident had taken place in the Kerem Shalom area.
"A few of the people who manned the vehicles started running away. We targeted them," she said.
Residents of the nearby Israeli communities had been ordered to stay inside their homes until further notice, she added.
There were no Israeli civilians or soldiers wounded in the incident.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed "the determined action of the military" and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet "for ensuring the failure of a large attack on Israeli civilians."
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement: "The way these attackers acted again shows the need for the Egyptian authorities to act firmly to re-establish security and fight terrorism in the Sinai".
Leibovich said it was too early to determine the gunmen's affiliation or what they were trying to do, but "one of the assumptions is they were trying to kidnap Israeli soldiers".
MENA however identified the gunmen as "jihadists" from the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
"Jihadist elements infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels in collaboration with jihadist elements in the Al-Mahdiya and Gabal Halal areas" inside Egypt, the agency said.
They "attacked a border post while the soldiers and officers were taking iftar," the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, it cited added, quoting an unidentified official.
Earlier today, before MENA's report, Hamas in Gaza had dismissed the idea that militants from the Palestinian territory may have been involved.
"The border between Egypt and Gaza is protected. We closed the tunnels (used for smuggling) to prevent anyone from escaping (into Gaza) and we have put our forces on alert," an interior ministry spokesman said.
"We reject any idea that Gaza was involved in this incident and we send our condolences over the killing of Egyptian soldiers."
A Hamas statement said: "We condemn this ugly crime in which Egyptian soldiers were killed, and send our condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people."
Sinai-based Islamist militants are believed to have been responsible for several rocket attacks against Israel.
Israel has accused them of having carried out a cross-border ambush last year that killed nine Israelis, and they have also been blamed for regular bombings of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan.
Gunmen kill 16 Egypt border guards, enter Israel
Gunmen on Sunday killed 16 guards in Egypt near the border with Israel before stealing two armoured vehicles and crossing into the Jewish state where one vehicle was destroyed by a helicopter.
An Egyptian medical official said gunmen in Bedouin attire drove up in two vehicles and opened fire on a checkpoint near the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom in Hebrew) border crossing and opened fire.
The health ministry said 16 border guards were killed, while a security official said another seven were wounded.
The official MENA news agency said the gunmen were "jihadists" from inside the Islamist Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
State television and MENA reported that Egypt was closing its Rafah frontier crossing with the Gaza Strip "until further notice".
President Mohamed Morsi called an emergency meeting with military and security officials after the attack, his spokesman Yasser Ali said.
Morsi, who only took the oath of office on June 30 to become the country's first freely elected leader and its first head of state since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year, said in a statement those behind the "cowardly" attack would pay it dearly.
"President Morsi says that this cowardly attack will not go without a response ... and that those who committed this crime will pay it dearly," said the statement, carried by the official MENA news agency.
In Israel, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich told reporters gunmen hijacked two vehicles from an Egyptian outpost where they killed between 10 and 15 border guards before crossing the frontier.
One of the vehicles exploded by itself and the other was destroyed from the air, and the Israeli military was searching for any remaining gunmen, she said.
She did not know how many had been on board the vehicles and if any had survived.
Israeli public radio said the vehicle had been targeted by a helicopter and that three "terrorists" on board had been killed.
Leibovich confirmed that the incident had taken place in the Kerem Shalom area.
"A few of the people who manned the vehicles started running away. We targeted them," she said.
Residents of the nearby Israeli communities had been ordered to stay inside their homes until further notice, she added.
No Israeli civilians or soldiers were wounded in the incident.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed "the determined action of the military" and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet "for ensuring the failure of a large attack on Israeli civilians".
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement: "The way these attackers acted again shows the need for the Egyptian authorities to act firmly to re-establish security and fight terrorism in the Sinai."
Leibovich said it was too early to determine the gunmen's affiliation or what they were trying to do, but "one of the assumptions is they were trying to kidnap Israeli soldiers".
MENA however identified the gunmen as "jihadists" from the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
"Jihadist elements infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels in collaboration with jihadist elements in the Al-Mahdiya and Gabal Halal areas" inside Egypt, the agency said.
They "attacked a border post while the soldiers and officers were taking iftar," the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, it added, quoting an unidentified official.
Earlier Sunday, before MENA's report, Hamas in Gaza had dismissed the idea that militants from the Palestinian territory may have been involved.
"The border between Egypt and Gaza is protected. We closed the tunnels (used for smuggling) to prevent anyone from escaping (into Gaza) and we have put our forces on alert," an interior ministry spokesman said.
"We reject any idea that Gaza was involved in this incident and we send our condolences over the killing of Egyptian soldiers."
A Hamas statement said: "We condemn this ugly crime in which Egyptian soldiers were killed, and send our condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian people."
Sinai-based Islamist militants are believed to have been responsible for several rocket attacks against Israel.
Israel accused them of having carried out a cross-border ambush last year that killed nine Israelis, and they have also been blamed for regular bombings of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan.
The Sinai is home to Egypt's Red Sea resorts, a source of lucrative tourist income, and is also where the country's Bedouin, long marginalised under the regime of fallen strongman Mubarak, are based.
On July 19, gunmen believed to be Islamist militants shot dead two Egyptian soldiers in a dawn attack in north Sinai.
The attack came after Islamist militants distributed pamphlets calling on the army to leave the lawless north of the peninsula, where they had been brought in to restore security.
The attack was in Sheikh Zuwaid, a town roughly 15 kilometres (10 miles) west of the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip.
The military sent tanks and soldiers into the region last year to quell Islamist militants, after receiving permission from Israel. Under a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Egypt should have a limited military presence in the area.
Egyptian police killed in attack on Israeli border
Unidentified gunmen have attacked a checkpoint on the Egyptian-Israeli border, killing at least 15 Egyptian policemen, officials say.
Israel said the heavily armed attackers, in two vehicles, then tried to smash their way across the border.
One vehicle apparently blew up at the North Sinai crossing, while the other was destroyed by the Israeli air force.
It is not clear who carried out the raid. Egyptian state television blamed Islamist militants.
The country's state news agency quoted a top security official who said the gunmen were "jihadists" who had infiltrated from the Gaza Strip.
Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak said his country's security forces had "thwarted an attack that could have injured many".
"The militants' attack methods again raise the need for determined Egyptian action to enforce security and prevent terror in the Sinai," he said in a statement.
Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi held an emergency meeting with military and security officials after the attack.
In a statement read on state media, he described it as cowardly and said those behind it would "pay for it dearly".
He urged the authorities to take measures to "confront this serious challenge to Egyptian sovereignty and to protect Sinai from all armed groups".
At least seven other Egyptian policemen were wounded in the attack, security officials said. It is unclear how many militants were involved or how many were killed.
Security fears
Egyptian and Israeli forces say they are searching for any other gunmen who may have escaped. Israeli civilians in the area have been told to stay inside their homes.
The Rafah border crossing with Israel has shut indefinitely, Egyptian state television says.
The attack on the border post close to the Gaza Strip and Israel took place around sunset, just as the guards had stopped work for the traditional iftar meal, which breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Masked gunmen dressed as bedouin opened fire on police with guns and rocket-propelled grenades before driving off with an armoured vehicle, Egyptian state television said.
In Israel a military spokeswoman said two vehicles had been taken at its Kerem Shalom crossing.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says the attack will be seen as more worrying evidence that Islamist militants have a firm foothold in the restive Northern Sinai region.
They have been blamed for several rocket attacks against Israel and a cross-border raid that killed nine Israelis last year.
Recently there have also been repeated attacks on the pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan. Last month two Egyptian soldiers were shot dead.
Egypt's military sent extra tanks and troops into the Sinai last year. The terms had to be agreed with Israel under the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, our correspondent says.
Islamists Kill 15 Egyptians on Israeli Border
Islamists gunned down at least 15 Egyptian police officers and stole an army tank today in an attack on a Sinai police station close to the Israeli border, Reuters reports. Israeli aircraft responded by destroying a vehicle used by the attackers; another of their vehicles exploded at the North Sinai crossing, the BBC reports. It was the deadliest attack in the region in at least 20 years.
Israeli officials and Egyptian media blamed the attack on Islamist militants, a notion dismissed by Hamas in Gaza, AFP reports. The incident will likely force Israel and Egypt to engage diplomatically at a delicate time, when Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, has just taken power. It could also strain Egypt's relations with Hamas if Palestinian gunmen are held responsible for the attack.
Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli authorities
A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces last monday outside Bettilo village near Ramallah. Hassan Badea al-Taber, aged 46, had left his home in Bettilo and was on his way to Jerusalem when he was shot by Israeli forces on the southern edge of the village. Al-Taber’s body is still being held by Israeli authorities for analysis, they claim.
Authorities promised to transfer the body to the family on 1 August at the Ni’lin or Qalandia checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel. Al-Taber’s two sons, Muhammad (aged 20) and Alaa (17) were expected to meet them to collect the body.
Al-Taber, known to his community as Akram Badea Bader, was on his way from the West Bank to Jerusalem to work, traveling in a white Ford vehicle. Before they reached the Zaim checkpoint the driver received a phone call from a driver further down the road warning him that the situation at the checkpoint was volatile and that it was better to turn around. At that moment shots were fired at the car, hitting Al-Taber in the back of his neck, killing him instantly. Other passengers in the car sustained gunshot injuries.
Eyewitnesses from Zaim village report hearing single shots and machine gun fire around midnight that night. When residents appeared on the scene they saw a car with all its tires shot out and injured people waiting for medical assistance.
Khaled Ziyade, a 23-year old injured worker injured in the car stated that: “We were on our way to work in Israel. When we reached the Zaim checkpoint the soldier asked the driver to stop, but we didn’t because nobody had a work permit. When he tried to turn back the soldiers started to shot at us.” Ziyade sustained a bullet wound to his leg. Also present was 27-year old Ashraf al-Sabti, hit by two bullets in his leg and shoulder.
The family of Al-Taber told Silwanic that he had previously entered Israeli areas with a permit, having worked there as a painter for almost 20 years.
A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces last monday outside Bettilo village near Ramallah. Hassan Badea al-Taber, aged 46, had left his home in Bettilo and was on his way to Jerusalem when he was shot by Israeli forces on the southern edge of the village. Al-Taber’s body is still being held by Israeli authorities for analysis, they claim.
Authorities promised to transfer the body to the family on 1 August at the Ni’lin or Qalandia checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel. Al-Taber’s two sons, Muhammad (aged 20) and Alaa (17) were expected to meet them to collect the body.
Al-Taber, known to his community as Akram Badea Bader, was on his way from the West Bank to Jerusalem to work, traveling in a white Ford vehicle. Before they reached the Zaim checkpoint the driver received a phone call from a driver further down the road warning him that the situation at the checkpoint was volatile and that it was better to turn around. At that moment shots were fired at the car, hitting Al-Taber in the back of his neck, killing him instantly. Other passengers in the car sustained gunshot injuries.
Eyewitnesses from Zaim village report hearing single shots and machine gun fire around midnight that night. When residents appeared on the scene they saw a car with all its tires shot out and injured people waiting for medical assistance.
Khaled Ziyade, a 23-year old injured worker injured in the car stated that: “We were on our way to work in Israel. When we reached the Zaim checkpoint the soldier asked the driver to stop, but we didn’t because nobody had a work permit. When he tried to turn back the soldiers started to shot at us.” Ziyade sustained a bullet wound to his leg. Also present was 27-year old Ashraf al-Sabti, hit by two bullets in his leg and shoulder.
The family of Al-Taber told Silwanic that he had previously entered Israeli areas with a permit, having worked there as a painter for almost 20 years.
