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| Monday, 27 October 2003 |
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Israel dynamites three tall buildings in Gaza NETZARIM JUNCTION, Gaza Strip, Sunday (Reuters) The Israeli army dynamited three partly built 13-storey Palestinian buildings overlooking a Jewish settlement on Sunday in a blast that sent shock waves across the Gaza Strip. A flash of light was seen against the night sky as simultaneous blasts sent all three buildings tumbling down and a cloud of grey dust rose into the air. "An earthquake of Israeli violence hit the Gaza Strip," one Palestinian radio station reported. About 2,000 Palestinians living near the buildings earmarked for demolition were temporarily evacuated for their safety during the operation, Israeli officials said. The towers were blown up because they gave a bird's eye view of the Netzarim settlement and security sources said they were used by militants to observe troop movements before an attack on Netzarim on Friday in which three Israeli soldiers were killed. "It was very accurate...I hope there is no collateral damage. I hope it will be a good message to the Palestinian Authority not to let their infrastructure be used for terror," said Israeli commander Brigadier-General Gadi Shammi. The attack on Netzarim was carried out by Islamic Jihad and Hamas under a new policy sealed by leaders Ramadan Shallah and Khaled Mashal at a meeting in Syria earlier in the week in which they agreed to improve their "field cooperation". In Gaza, Palestinian medics said three people were lightly hurt from debris from the blast and one person was shot early in the evening when Israeli troops raided the town of al-Zahrah.Several cars parked near the buildings were badly damaged by the explosions, windows of nearby homes were broken and some Palestinians were thrown out of their beds by the force of the blasts. Meanwhile Israeli soldiers snatched two Palestinian militants from West Bank hospitals in a raid launched after three soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip in a joint attack by Islamic militant groups. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the raid as "a grave development that contravenes international law". Soldiers barged into the Anglican hospital in Nablus and seized Hamas militant Khaled al-Hamad from an intensive care unit bed where he was being treated for wounds sustained when a bomb he was transporting apparently detonated prematurely. They put him into a waiting military ambulance and transferred him to a Tel Aviv area hospital where he will be treated under guard, an Israeli security official said. A second senior Palestinian militant, Jawad Ishtayeh, was arrested at Nablus's Rafidia hospital where he ran a cell of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from the hospital's basement, the official said, adding he was armed and was "in perfect health". Ishtayeh's relatives confirmed he was an al-Aqsa Brigades member but had no details on what he was doing in the hospital. Earlier Israeli tanks staged an incursion night into Al-Zahara, south of Gaza City after opening fire in the area and wounding at least one person, Palestinian security forces said. Israeli tanks headed towards the area, about two kilometres (one mile) south of Gaza City, opening fire from submachine guns, the sources told AFP, without giving any further details. Soldiers stormed the police post in Al-Zahara, arresting officers they found inside and seizing their weapons, Palestinian witnesses said. The post was then blown up. A new, but empty 10-storey building was also heavily damaged by tank fire. Israeli military sources confirmed that the post was destroyed. |
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