GAZA CITY, 14 January 2006 — Israel bombarded a no-go zone in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, a Palestinian source said.

The Israeli Army claimed the bombardment was in response to six rockets launched from northern Gaza which caused no casualties or damage, although one exploded near an army base and another south of the Mediterranean port town of Ashkelon.

The rocket attacks were claimed by two Palestinian groups — Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.

They said the rockets were in retaliation for the deaths of two Jihad fighters during an Israeli arrest operation in the flashpoint northern West Bank town of Jenin on Thursday.

In another development, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Qidwa said yesterday that if Israel obstructs legislative elections in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority would halt the elections altogether.

Al-Qidwa told reporters in a news briefing held in the city of Ramallah that the Palestinian leadership represented by President Mahmoud Abbas is serious about halting the elections if Israel obstructs voting in East Jerusalem.

“The participation of East Jerusalem’s Palestinians is a major condition for holding the election, and if Israel is illegally obstructing (the election), Israel will alone be responsible for violating international law,” Al-Qidwa said.

He added that any Israeli obstruction of the election “would be a clear violation of the present agreements reached between the two sides and also Israel will be responsible for foiling the Palestinian democratic process.”

Meanwhile, a US envoy yesterday backed Palestinian calls for Arab residents in East Jerusalem to be able to vote in this month’s parliamentary elections.

“The United States believes that the Palestinians should be able to vote everywhere,” Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch told reporters after talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“We want to make sure that people feel safe and free to go to vote,” he added after the meeting at Abbas’ headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The Palestinian leader had reiterated his demand that Israel allow residents of the city’s occupied and annexed eastern sector to participate in the Jan. 25 vote — the second ever to the Ramallah-based Parliament.

“President Abbas confirmed that the elections will go ahead as scheduled and stressed the importance of the participation of Jerusalem residents,” chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

He also demanded that Israel “lift its roadblocks and allow free movement of voters and candidates.” Welch and Elliot Abrams, the White House envoy on the Middle East, had held earlier talks on the Palestinian election with Israel’s acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to a statement from his office. Talks focused on the election, various post-election possibilities and obligations from the Palestinian Authority to “fight terrorism,” it said without elaborating.

Israel is set to take a final decision tomorrow on whether to allow Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate in the vote. Approval is expected to be given following the resignation of four ministers from the right-wing Likud, which opposes the move.

— With input from agencies