At Least Fifteen Wounded in New Israeli Strike

At Least Fifteen Wounded in New Israeli Strike
About 15 Palestinians have been hurt after at least three Israeli missiles struck the home of a member of the Islamic resistance group Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip. The victims, all of them civilians, were wounded in the strike on the house in the Khan Yunus refugee camp, medics said. Before the strike, Palestinian residents said helicopter gunships had been flying over the Gaza Strip. Abd al-Salam Abu Musa, a known member of the armed wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, lived in the house, witnesses told Aljazeera. But Abu Musa escaped from the house four minutes before the missiles struck, they added. An Israeli military spokesman said the building had been a weapons store for Hamas and that many explosions were heard inside after it was hit. **'Marked for death'*** Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has vowed to track down and kill resistance members following the collapse of a unilateral ceasefire by Hamas and others. Israel continued its raids and attacks on Palestinians despite the ceasefire. Sharon said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday that Hamas leaders were "marked for death". He vowed to keep up the hunt for them, which intensified after a bomber killed 22 people on an Israeli bus in Jerusalem on 19 August. The attack was in retaliation for bloody Israeli raids into Palestinian territories. Israeli air strikes have killed 12 Islamist resistance activists in the Gaza Strip since the Jerusalem attack. An Israeli fighter plane fired a missile at a house in Gaza City on Saturday, and wheelchair-bound Hamas spiritual leader Shaikh Ahmad Yasin escaped with light wounds. Shaikh Yasin said on Sunday that Hamas would teach Israel "an unforgettable lesson" as hundreds of supporters gathered outside his home to congratulate him on surviving Saturday's air strike. Egypt called on the world on Sunday to condemn the attack on Yasin. "We condemn Israel's actions against civilians. Destroying homes and killing people with aircraft in streets crowded with civilians is a crime," Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said. Egypt has forged a peace treaty with Israel, but withdrew its ambassadors in 2000 in protest at Israel's handling of the al-Aqsa Intifada or uprising. **Solana: EU could Rethink its Hamas Stance*** The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana has indicated the political wing of Hamas could be taken off the bloc's terrorist blacklist if it cuts ties with the Palestinian group's armed section. He was speaking after talks with Egyptian leaders in Cairo. Hamas' political organization was added to the list on Saturday. Solana also said he still believed the "road map" peace plan could succeed: "I refuse to say that the road map is not alive. It is alive. It is a difficult road map we implemented, we know we have ups and downs but this is the only document we have here to allow in the year 2005 to have two states, a Palestinian state and an Israeli state." he said. Solana who discussed the situation with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek later had talks with representatives of the Arab league. **Qorei Next Premier*** "Arafat has told the Fatah leadership that he nominates Abu Ala to form a new government," the official said using Qorei's nickname. Mahmoud Abbas, named by Arafat as prime minister in April under US pressure, resigned the previous day after losing a bitter power struggle with the Palestinian leader. Arafat has not yet formally accepted Abbas's resignation. Arafat's decision to nominate Qorei still needs to be approved by the ruling bodies of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the official said. Qorei had made no response to Arafat's proposal, officials who attended the Fatah meeting said. Qorei was one of the architects of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the PLO signed in September 1993. He is known as a moderate and has served as speaker of the Palestinian parliament since 1996. **PHOTO CAPTION*** In a hospital emergency room, a man carries a girl wounded in an Israeli helicopter strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, late Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003. (AP Photo/Yakoub Galowa)

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