Gaza bombardment further weakens peace prospects

Israeli aircraft early today bombarded open areas and roads in northern Gaza that the military said Palestinian militants used to launch rocket attacks on nearby southern Israel.

No injuries were reported after more than a dozen missiles were fired, but yesterday, a Palestinian militant was killed after Israeli aircraft launched missiles at a car carrying him and two other extremists in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

The gunmen were on a mission to carry out a rocket attack, the Israeli military and militants said.

These latest incidents in nearly a week of violence further dimmed prospects for peacemaking that had seemed more promising immediately after Israel’s pullout from Gaza last month.

In comments published yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz issued an uncommonly pessimistic outlook for reaching a peace deal with the current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians said Mofaz’s remarks reflected an Israeli policy that favours occupation and does not advance the internationally backed “road map” peace plan, which envisions a future Palestinian state existing side-by-side with Israel.

The authors of the road map – the US, the UN, Russia and the European Union - took a strong stand against Palestinian militants yesterday, demanding that Syria immediately shut down the offices of the militant Islamic Jihad group in Damascus and prevent use of Syrian territory for acts of terror.

Islamic Jihad has been responsible for the most violent attacks against Israeli targets since a February cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians.

The so-called “Quartet” also called for restraint, communication between Israel and the Palestinians and said an escalation of violence should be avoided.

The Israeli military said it targeted the car in Beit Hanoun because the three militants inside were on a mission to fire rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot.

No hits were reported in Sderot, but the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a group affiliated with Abbas’ governing Fatah party, said an Israeli drone targeted its members after the rockets were already fired.

An Al Aqsa spokesman, using the code name Abu Ahmed, said Israel would “pay a heavy price for this crime.”

The missile strike reduced the white Subaru to a charred and twisted shell. The dead man was identified as Majid Natat, 28, of the Gaza town of Beit Lahia, frequently used for rocket launches against Israel. Another militant was injured, and another escaped before the whistling missile hit, witnesses said.

Just after midnight yesterday, Israeli jet fighters bombarded three sites in northern Gaza. About three hours later, an additional 11 missiles were fired, also in that border area.

The violence this week began on Monday with Israel’s killing of a top gunman from the Islamic Jihad group. An Islamic Jihad revenge bombing on Wednesday killed five Israelis in central Israel, and on Thursday evening, missiles fired at a car from Israeli aircraft killed four Islamic Jihad members and three bystanders.