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IDF kills 8 in Gaza; Israel reduces electricity supply By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Mijal Grinberg Eight Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in Israel Defense Forces operations yesterday, as power supply cuts were initiated in retaliation for continued rocket barrages by Islamist militants against communities in southern Israel. For the first time since the Supreme Court approved cuts in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip as a legitimate means of economic pressure, the flow on one of the 10 high-tension wires into the territory was cut by five percent. Advertisement Meanwhile, during a small-scale ground operation in Gaza, the IDF yesterday uncovered underground tunnels used by militants to conceal rocket launchers used to attack southern Israel. The makeshift, primitive silos, are meant to hide the Qassams from the surveillance drones of the IDF flying overhead. Israeli security sources said that this kind of operational know-how was taught to Palestinians from Hezbollah. The cut in electricity supplies will be stepped up weekly, Israeli officials said, depending on security assessments and the humanitarian needs of the population there, and may include more power lines. "We need to diminish the dependency of the Gaza Strip on Israel in a variety of areas," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said yesterday during a visit to Sderot and Ashkelon. "The Supreme Court ruled that on the matter of the electricity we are acting properly. Our intention is to begin to lower the electricity supply in moderate amounts, while the residents of Gaza build the infrastructure for an independent supply of electricity," he added. During the first week, the supply will drop by one megawatt of the total of 124 MW Israel supplies the Strip. Israel aims to eventually lower the amount of electricity it supplies the Gaza Strip to a mere five percent of the original total. Israeli security sources described this step as gradual and proportional, stressing that the defense establishment would keep its commitment to the Supreme Court not to undertake actions that would result in a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The human rights organization B'tselem criticized Vilnai's remarks yesterday, saying that his "statements that the aim of the cuts is to assist the Strip to free itself from dependence on Israel is a new peak of cynicism and contradicts the arguments made by the State before the Supreme Court. At this stage Israel prevents the Gaza Strip from developing its independent energy supply - which has caused a deficit of 20 percent in the electricity supply in the Strip, compared to the needs of the population." Egypt and Israel supply 70 percent of electricity consumed in the Gaza Strip and the rest is produced locally. In the IDF operations in the Gaza Strip yesterday, seven of the Palestinians killed were militants, and another a civilian teaching at an agricultural school. The Palestinian casualties occurred during a ground operation carried out by infantry units backed by armor and combat engineer units, and supported by air power. The operation targeted the northern Gaza Strip, near Jabalya. Other forces also attacked near Beit Hanoun, both areas where militants fire Qassam rockets against communities bordering the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian civilian, Hani Na'im, was killed when a missile struck a school in Beit Hanoun, also wounding three pupils. IDF sources said that they had targeted a rocket crew spotted near Beit Hanoun and denied aiming at the school. The same sources said that an investigation was underway to determine whether a stray missile had hit the school. Seven rockets and eight mortar shells were launched from Gaza yesterday, the army said. One hit the border town of Sderot, wounding two Israelis. Meanwhile, Hamas rejected a proposal put forth by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to broker a cease-fire between the Islamist group and Israel. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum described the proposal as "an extortion attempt" and said that Abbas allows Israel to continue its "massacre." In Ramallah, the Palestinian Liberation Organization executive committee called on Israel to stop "operations of killing and destruction ... including aggression against houses and schools" and also issued a statement expressing its opposition to rocket fire on Israel and other attacks on Israeli civilians. It said the violence hurt the Palestinian cause. A gag order was also released yesterday on news that three weeks ago the security forces captured a truck carrying 800 kilograms of potassium nitrate, on its way to the West Bank, at a crossing near Qalqiliyah. The concerns are that those purchasing the material planned to use it for bomb making. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Will power Shas Minister Yitzhak Cohen says only a complete Gaza power cut will bring results. The cost of security U.S. estimate: Preparing Palestinian security forces for statehood will cost $7 billion.

Today Online Syria upgrades missiles thanks to Iranian support Responses: 407 2 brothers, 8 and 19, seriously hurt in Sderot Qassam strike Responses: 421 Palestinian PM: Peace deal with Israel 'unlikely' this year Responses: 155 Editorial: Open the Rafah crossing Responses: 168 B. Weinthal: Germany is the logical place to start embargo of Iran Responses: 121 Hamas confiscates humanitarian aid trucks sent to Gaza Responses: 115 More Headlines 01:42 IAF kills Hamas man; 2 hurt in attack on Sderot 03:01 IDF: Hezbollah deploys rockets, missiles in south Lebanon 20:37 Hamas: W. Bank residents could breach border fence, enter Israel 20:32 U.K.: Gaza electricity cut risks harming humanitarian situation 22:49 Shas Min.: Only complete power cut in Gaza will bring results 22:02 Vilnius Catholics derogatorily portray Jews in holiday parade 21:04 PA negotiator: Peace deal possible in 2008 if sides honor commitments 20:53 Tennis: Israel takes 2-1 lead in Davis Cup match against Sweden 20:28 Israel complains to UN Security Council over rocket barrage 20:23 PA census: Nearly 4 million Palestinians live in W. Bank, Gaza, E. J'lem 01:48 Turkish lawmakers lift ban on Islamic head scarves at universities 02:12 Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli high-schoolers Previous Editions Select Day 08 feb 07 feb 06 feb 05 feb 04 feb 03 feb 01 feb 31 jan 30 jan 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan

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