JERUSALEM, 13 January 2005 — The Israeli Army killed four Palestinians in an upsurge of violence in the West Bank and Gaza yesterday, pouring cold water on the optimism that has greeted the election of Mahmoud Abbas as the new Palestinian leader.
Two members of the Islamic Jihad were killed in the Morag settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, one of 21 due to be dismantled later this year.
And two Hamas fighters were killed in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The violence was the worst flareup since moderate former Prime Minister Abbas, who has repeatedly called for end to the armed struggle, was elected president of the Palestinian Authority on Sunday.
Commenting on yesterday’s flareup and the killing of another Palestinian a day earlier, Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei condemned “the army’s assassination of two Hamas activists and an activist from the (Fatah-linked) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades”.
“This does not show positive intentions on the part of the Israeli government,” he said.
Touring the impoverished Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana voiced confidence that Abbas would work to revive the peace process.
“You have opened a new page ... and you can be sure that the new president and the new structures are going to do the utmost to recuperate ... the peace process,” Solana told reporters.
Solana said the European Union was ready to offer security assistance and economic aid following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza later this year.
“We (the EU) are the most important partner by far,” he said. “It is difficult to see how you can do more politically.”
Stumbling over rubble and viewing razed homes left by a vast army incursion in October, Solana described it as “very moving” but also slammed Israel’s response to the rocket attacks as “disproportionate”.
“Rockets should not be fired. Point number one. But the amount of destruction is to my mind ... disproportionate. Those responsible are not the ones who have been punished,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Cabinet held its last meeting with the current lineup after Abbas’ election.
Abbas has spoken frequently about ending the armed intifada, but Israel’s head of military intelligence, Gen. Aharon Zeevi, said yesterday he was unlikely to succeed.
“Abu Mazen (Abbas) will not try to confiscate the illegally held weapons, he will not take on Hamas,” Zeevi said on public radio.
“Abu Mazen will try to convince (Hamas) and appeal to Palestinian public opinion to put pressure on the terrorists by explaining that this generation has suffered enough.”
Israeli officials have repeatedly demanded the Palestinian leadership crack down on the likes of Hamas before it can be considered a partner in the peace process.
In Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won parliamentary approval for the first reading of the 2005 state budget after putting together a new coalition lineup earlier this week.
— With input from agencies
