Palestinians blame Israel for Gaza blast that killed 8; IDF denies involvement - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Mon., February 18, 2008 Adar1 12, 5768

Israel Time: 02:16 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Rosner's Domain

Diplomacy

Defense

Jewish World

Opinion

National

Print Edition

Advertising

Books

Arts & Leisure

Business

Real Estate

Easy Start

Travel

Week's End

Anglo File

Last update - 01:26 17/02/2008

Palestinians blame Israel for Gaza blast that killed 8; IDF denies involvement

By Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay

Eight Palestinians were killed in an unexplained explosion in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Friday evening.

The explosion occurred at the house of Ayman Fayad, 42, a senior Islamic Jihad operative. Islamic Jihad claimed that Israeli aircraft had fired missiles at the building in order to kill Fayad, but Israel denied any connection to the blast.

	Advertisement

Along with Fayad, the fatalities included his wife, three-year-old daughter and two sons, ages five and 18. Three neighbors were also killed in the explosion, and some 50 people were wounded.

In contrast to Islamic Jihad, Hamas initially declined to blame Israel, saying it might have been a "work accident" - i.e. that some of the explosives stored in the house might have gone off accidentally. That is also the Israel Defense Forces' assessment, and the IDF stressed there were no Israeli operations in Gaza at the time.

But yesterday all the Palestinian organizations, including both Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, issued statements blaming Israel for the blast.

Palestinians fired more than 15 mortar shells at southern Israel over the weekend, but most fell short and landed in Gaza. They also fired five Qassam rockets at Israel, but all landed in open areas and caused no casualties.

Near Azoun, east of the West Bank city of Qalqilyah, an Israeli civilian was lightly wounded on Friday afternoon when Palestinians threw a firebomb at his car. Two other Israeli cars were also hit by firebombs in the area, though these caused no casualties. The IDF responded by imposing a curfew on Azoun and conducting searches for the culprits.

In contrast, the IDF removed the closure it had imposed on Tul Karm on Thursday due to intelligence warnings about attempts to send a suicide bomber from the city into Israel. Also yesterday, Hamas published what it said were the videotaped confessions of two Fatah members who had planned to assassinate senior Hamas officials, including Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, at the PA's instigation. The PA denied the accusations and claimed that the confessions were staged.

Meanwhile, Hamas yesterday repeated its offer of a temporary cease-fire if Israel ends all operations against Palestinians and opens Gaza's borders.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Independence day
	Kosovars rejoice as Kosovo declares itself an independent and sovereign state.


	Settling the score
	1/3 of W. Bank settlements are on Palestinian land seized for 'security purposes.'

Today Online


	U.S.: Syria, Hezbollah may be behind Mughniyah killing
	Responses: 222


	Issacharoff and Harel: What Hezbollah could lose in avenging Mughniyah
	Responses: 95


	Rosner: The row over Obama's stance on Israel is a dispute between Jews
	Responses: 85


	U.S. Reform leader supports concessions on Jerusalem
	Responses: 92


	Gideon Levy: Killing Mughniyah was playing with fire
	Responses: 80

More Headlines
23:25 PM downplays optimism over imminent Shalit deal


20:25 U.S. spy chief: Hezbollah may be behind Mughniyah killing


21:52 IDF soldier seriously wounded in southern Gaza Strip


02:09 Israel delays taking stance on independent Kosovo


17:23 The row over Obama's stance on Israel is a dispute between Jews


01:08 Gov't to fund fortification of 3,600 homes near Gaza, instead of 8,000


21:23 French FM says peace progress evident, despite earlier remarks


21:34 Sderot business owners thrown out of court for insulting judges, state


01:33 Knesset passes draft bill outlawing membership of racist organizations


18:31 Police suspect Shoafat teen raped, murdered his 6-year-old cousin


22:23 Tiberias man arrested after thousands of Kinneret fish poisoned


17:35 Egypt: No Gaza border deal without consent of Israel, PA