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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Palestinian rocket attack briefly threatens lull in violence |
| 2008-03-12 |
| A Palestinian rocket fell near the Israeli city of Ashkelon Tuesday, briefly threatening a fragile period of calm as Egypt said it was optimistic about mediating a truce between Israel and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip. Israeli defense officials said the army would not retaliate for the attack, since Hamas militants had not launched the rocket. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The situation remained tense, with the lead negotiator for the West Bank-based Palestinian government accusing Israel of endangering the peace process with new plans for settlement expansion. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a tiny militant group, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's rocket, which Israel said landed in an open area south of Ashkelon, causing no injuries. Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 some 11 miles north of Gaza, repeatedly came under fire during intense fighting earlier this month between Israel and the Hamas militant group. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who visited Ashkelon earlier Tuesday, was not in the area at the time of the rocket strike. He told residents Israel has no certain way of stopping rockets. "This is the reality of life in our country," Olmert said. "We know that there is no certainty the quiet of today won't be replaced with commotion tomorrow." Palestinian rocket squads repeatedly hit the coastal city, a sign of their growing sophistication, in attacks that helped prompt fighting that killed three Israelis and 120 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, according to Palestinian officials. Israel halted the offensive in Gaza last week, and militants have sharply scaled back their rocket fire since then. Egypt has been serving as a mediator between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, but both sides have denied talk of an official cease-fire. |
| Posted by:Fred |