GAZA CITY, 11 October — Israeli armored bulldozers and tanks moved several hundred meters into Palestinian-controlled territory in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, razing farmland near a Jewish settlement, a senior Palestinian security official told AFP. Khaled Abu Alola, the Palestinian liaison head of the southern Gaza sector, told AFP three Israeli tanks and four bulldozers flattened a swathe of farmland and cut down olive trees close to near the Palestinian town of Al-Karara, which is close to the Gush Katif Jewish settlement bloc.
He said the army had carried out several incursions in the sector in the past three days, and accused the Israelis of seizing Palestinian land to build a road to the settlements. "The road will confiscate 300 dunams (1,200 acres) of people’s land," he said, calling the operations a violation of three-week cease-fire deal with Israel. "The Israeli side is determined to destroy property," he said. He called the operation a violation of the cease-fire declared by both sides three weeks ago, but which has been hampered by ongoing violence.
In riot-torn Gaza City, schools reopened two days after student demonstrations against the US bombing of Afghanistan turned into bloody street battles with Palestinian police that left two young people dead. Two small, peaceful protests were staged outside secondary schools to register student anger at the heavy-handed police crackdown.
Meanwhile, Islamic nations yesterday hailed US President George Bush’s statement supporting creation of a Palestinian state, but urged him to back his words with deeds to stop the Middle East becoming a breeding ground for terrorism. Bush, who is leading a campaign against terrorism involving many Arab and Muslim states, said last week that establishing a Palestinian state had always been part of his strategic vision to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"This position represents, in our view, a positive development of great importance, which will put things in their true course," Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani, emir of Qatar and chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference said as he opened an emergency foreign ministers meeting in Doha.
