GAZA, 27 September 2004 — Israeli occupation forces yesterday assassinated Jihad Hassan Abu Naeem 34, a senior leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah movement in the city of Salfet north of West Bank. Witnesses said an explosive device had been planted for him.
Earlier yesterday, Israeli helicopters fired at least two missiles at an aluminum workshop in the town of Khan Yunis completely destroying the building. Two Palestinians were injured in the raid.
Medical sources in the southern Gaza City of Rafah said six Palestinians were injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire.
Shortly after the raid, the army bulldozed 35 Palestinian homes, leaving nearly 50 people homeless, arguing that the buildings were being “used as cover by Palestinians to fire mortar shells and anti-tank missiles at Israeli targets”.
Army officials warned yesterday that the more Palestinians fired on Israeli targets, the harsher the military response would be. “We will take the gloves off,” an army official told Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot on condition of anonymity.
“In every place where there is mortar or Qassam rocket fire, we will go deep into the territory in an aggressive manner, including demolishing homes. The more violent the Palestinian struggle becomes, the more the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will lower restrictions on the use of force.”
As the Palestinian intifada enters its fifth year, Israel seems more determined than ever to expand its settlement enterprise in the West Bank, arguably the most contentious aspect of the conflict.
Although Israel has recently decided to withdraw from all 21 settlements in Gaza, settlement activity in the West Bank has positively flourished since the start of the intifada in September 2000.
There are currently around 225 Jewish settlements scattered across the West Bank, 127 of which are “government approved” settlements, and around a hundred which are known as “unauthorized” outposts. The international community considers all settlements in the occupied territories illegal.
