Israel is ratcheting up the pressure on Hamas and therefore the rest of the palestinian infrastructure. This might possibly take us somewhere interesting - like a paleo civil war (he hopes).
Israel killed three Palestinian militants and a civilian bystander Friday in an attempt to capture a master Hamas bomb-maker, a further blow to efforts to prop up a collapsing "road map" peace plan. The United States, which unveiled the road map three weeks ago, said Thursday a truce by militants would not be enough to bolster the plan.
| Somebody's letting reality intrude here... |
It also urged European Union and Arab countries to cut off support for political wing of the militant Hamas movement which has orchestrated a number of suicide bombings in Israel. But Palestinian officials said U.S. calls to disarm the popular militants could provoke civil war, while Israel has vowed to keep pursuing them, complicating efforts to forge a cease-fire.
| The Paleothority is simply scared of them. They're not sure they're going to win in any fight... |
Witnesses said Israeli troops swept into the village of Mughraqa in the central Gaza Strip before dawn Friday and surrounded the family home of Hamas explosives expert Adnan al-Ghul, precipitating a clash. They said three helicopter gunships accompanied by 15 tanks fired into the area, killing a brother and son of al-Ghul who were also Hamas members, and an operative of the allied Islamic Jihad militant faction. Witnesses said Adnan al-Ghul was not at home at the time and his whereabouts were unknown.
| Did they look under the bed? |
The fourth dead person was a civilian in an adjacent house. An Israeli military source said the army had carried out a "targeted arrest operation" against wanted Hamas members in Gaza. He said one soldier was lightly wounded but gave no further details. Security sources said Adnan al-Ghul was a senior Hamas militant wanted by Israel for some time. He escaped an Israeli army "track-and-kill" operation last year that killed his son.
Otherwise in the article Condeleza says the right things. |