Israel Defense Forces troops receive a briefing on the Gaza Strip operation they carried out Tuesday, in which 6 Palestinian militants were killed and 4 IDF soldiers lightly injured. (AP)
Hamas on Tuesday called on the Palestinian Authority to boycott the first working session with Israel since last month's Annapolis conference, citing the Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day, in which six Palestinians were killed.
"The hand of the enemy is still dripping with the blood of the martyrs," Taher Nunu, a Hamas spokesman, said. "It is a mark of shame to go to the negotiations tomorrow." The militant organization has been in control of Gaza since its violent seizure of the coastal territory in June.
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he six Palestinians, all operatives of terrorist organizations, were killed during two separate operations, while four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded. Palestinians described one of the Gaza operations as the second-largest in the coastal territory since the disengagement in August 2005.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials complained that the operations threatened to sabotage the fledgling peace talks.
"The Israeli policy of escalation aims to sabotage and place obstacles before the negotiations even before they start," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams are to meet at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting, which is being held in accordance with the joint statement made at Annapolis, will focus on technical issues such as the priority list for the subjects to be covered in negotiations, and the task forces that will be established, but the meeting will open the door to talks on the key issues under dispute.
Israeli sources expect the negotiating teams to discuss next week's donor conference in Paris for the Palestinian Authority, and also anticipate that the Palestinians will express their opinion on construction in the Har Homa neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
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