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Israeli Yuri Davidov, a neighbor of the Melech family, sits in the damaged living room of their house, which was hit by a Qassam rocket in the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 7, 2005 |
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Palestinians with the terrorist group Hamas fired three Qassam rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday, hitting one house. A woman and two children were taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon and treated for shock. Police were deployed to the area and are searching for additional rockets. The rockets were fired from the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip at approximately 7 a.m.
At the same time, Israeli soldiers traded fire with a Palestinian fugitive holed up in a house in the northern West Bank.
The violence came a day after Palestinian stone-throwers attacked Jewish worshippers and Israeli police at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Hamas terrorists claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on the Israeli city of Sderot, which did not cause any physically injuries.
Hamas said the attacks were retaliation for yesterday's visit by Jews to the Temple Mount, on the occaision of Jerusalem Day.
Meanwhile, a gunbattle broke out between IDF soldiers and the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank town of Qabatia early Tuesday. The head of the Islamic Jihad military wing in Jenin, Morwah Kamil, 25, was killed, along with a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
Terrorists have fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli targets in recent weeks, despite a Feb. 8 truce agreement between the two sides.
In recent days, defense officials have said Palestinian police have not taken sufficient action against terror groups, and warned the IDF would attack the Gaza Strip area should the Palestinian Authority demonstrate weakness in stopping terror activity.
Both sides are afraid that violence against settlers and the Israeli military could escalate during the pullout, and terrorists could take control of the evacuated area.
On Monday, Israeli negotiators turned over information about the 21 Gaza settlements slated for evacuation.
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan said the Israelis failed to present vital data. "The real information on assets, number of houses, location of water pipes and that sort of thing, we did not get," he told The Associated Press.
An adviser to Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Yoram Dori, said Tuesday that the Palestinians were given information and maps on electricity, water and sewage. The Palestinians wanted additional information that Israel will not turn over because it would endanger settlers and security forces, Dori said.
Israel Radio reported that the Palestinians wanted more detailed maps and aerial photographs of settlements and military facilities.
A Palestinian security official said Monday that the Palestinians are recruiting 5,600 police officers to ensure calm in Gaza during the pullout, scheduled for mid-August.
Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said the officers would be responsible for preventing attacks on settlers and soldiers, and stopping looting.
"We want to make the Israeli withdrawal smooth and fast," Abu Khoussa said. "If they are leaving, we should not impede them."
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Monday promised harsh retaliation for any attacks during the pullout.
He told a parliamentary committee that he has asked the Palestinians to deploy a large force during the evacuation to ensure quiet, meeting participants said.
"It has been decided that the disengagement will not take place under fire. We will do everything possible to coordinate the disengagement with the Palestinians," Mofaz said after the closed meeting.
In addition to the threat of Palestinian attacks, Israel is bracing for the possibility of violence by settlers opposed to the plan.
Mofaz also told the committee the military would forcibly disarm settlers who didn't turn in their weapons voluntarily.
The AP contributed to this report.
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