Palestinian Woman Killed in Jenin as Bush Wants Blair to Outlaw Hamas
- Author: News Agencies
- Publish date:09/03/2004
- Section:WORLD HEADLINES
Israeli occupation troops killed Tuesday a Palestinian woman in the West Bank city of Jenin, witnesses and medics said.
Witnesses told WAFA news agency that Israeli tanks and military jeeps stormed into the eastern part of the city of Jenin, amid intensive fire, and shot the woman dead. According to sources at Suleiman Hospital, the 22-year-old woman, Dalal al-Sabbagh, was instantly killed.
Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli armoured vehicles, backed by helicopters, stormed and imposed for a few hours curfew on the eastern part of Jenin, and arrested the 22-year-old activist, Mohammad Radwan. Israeli sources said Radwan was a leading military operative in the Islamic Jihad movement.
Also on Tuesday a pregnant woman, named Eitemad M. Kollab, 34, died of wounds she sustained on March 4 in the Gaza Strip City of Rafah. According to WAFA, Kollab was wounded when an Israeli tank bounded her house with a missile and instantly killed her husband.
**Bush Wants Blair to Outlaw Hamas***
Meanwhile, a British newspaper said Tuesday Prime Minister, Tony Blair is under pressure from President Bush to outlaw the Palestinian group Hamas, ending secret talks.
According to the Mirror, the move would dismay UK officials who said their negotiations with Hamas were vital to a breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
But Bush has added Hamas to a list of banned "terrorist organizations" and wants the UK to do the same.
The Home Office told the newspaer: "We keep the proscribed list of terrorist groups under regular review."
At present, only the military wing of Hamas, Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades, is on the UK list of 25 "terrorist" groups.
Its political wing has had secret contacts with British officials, including ex-MI6 officer Alastair Crooke who helped to broker last year's brief ceasefire. Crooke wants talks to continue.
In an unusual move, Crooke recently broke cover and said Hamas had too much popular support to be ignored.
PHOTO CAPTION
A Palestinian youth runs for cover as an Israeli army tank advances in the streets of the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Tuesday March 9, 2004. (AP Photo/Muhammed Ballas)