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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israeli airstrike kills two Palestinian youth in Gaza |
| 2010-10-18 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Two Paleostinians were killed and a third maimed on Sunday in a pre-dawn Israeli air strike north of Gazoo City, Paleostinian medics said. Adham Abu Selmiya, an official in the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run health ministry, said one of the men was killed immediately while the other succumbed to his wounds after being brought to a hospital. Both were in their early 20s. The Israeli military said the air force had struck a "squad of terror operatives who were preparing to fire rockets from the northern Gazoo Strip into Israel." The number of rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled territory declined sharply in the wake of a massive 22-day Israeli offensive in December 2008 and January 2009 during which some 1,400 Paleostinians and 13 Israelis were killed. But since the the start of this year more than 165 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired at Israel from Gazoo, according to the military. The rockets are believed to have been fired by smaller and more extreme factions within the territory, while Hamas itself has taken steps to rein in such attacks. The makeshift projectiles rarely wound anyone or cause damage. Prisoner swap: Israel said on Sunday it had resumed talks with the Hamas rulers of Gazoo on swapping about 1,000 Paleostinian prisoners for a captive soldier held for more than four years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the German mediator who has been working to broker a deal for about a year has returned to the region. Hamas-linked Orcs and similar vermin captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in June 2006 in a raid across the Gazoo-Israel border. Secret negotiations over a swap, mediated by Egypt and more recently by Germany, have been deadlocked for several months. Hamas is not part of US sponsored peace talks that restarted last month in Washington. As opposed Western-backed Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas, who is heading the peace negotiations, Hamas has no official relations with Israel. Deals proposed in the past have entailed Israel swapping about 1,000 Paleostinian prisoners for Schalit. The most recent talks broke down over Israel's refusal to release a number of prisoners who carried out deadly attacks on civilians because of fears they would return to violence. Hamas insists these prisoners be part of any deal. Hamas officials said over the weekend that the lead German mediator had returned to the region to resume talks, which Netanyahu confirmed. But Hamas front man Ayman Taha said the German mediator's visit was "exploratory" and that he had not brought a new offer. "Netanyahu is misleading Israeli public opinion when he talks about his willingness to make major concessions in order to conclude the deal," Taha said. Paris meeting: Israeli and Paleostinian officials say plans to bring their leaders together at a meeting in France this week have been postponed. Recently restarted Israeli-Paleostinian peace talks are on shaky ground over disagreements about Jewish settlement construction. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had invited the Israeli and Paleostinian leaders to Paris on Thursday. But late on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced the meeting was delayed. It gave no explanation, but Paleostinian officials say the agenda still hasn't been settled. There was no immediate comment from Paris. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Yoots. Damn Yoots! |
| Posted by: Throns Ebbeque9685 2010-10-18 21:39 |
| #3 "They were FTFY, FR. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-10-18 15:07 |
| #2 Both were in their early 20s. So they weren't 'youths' as I understand it. They were militants. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-10-18 14:40 |
| #1 hope it was painful. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-10-18 07:41 |