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Wednesday September 19, 2007 15:18 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News
On Wednesday Israeli Security Cabinet has declared the Gaza strip an "enemy entity", adding that the Israeli government will reduce the amount of fuel and power supplies to the coastal region.
According to Israeli media sources, this move by the Israeli government comes in response to the continuing problem of home-made shells being fired into nearby Israeli towns by Palestinian resistance fighters.
Two weeks ago, Palestinian resistance factions launched several home-made shells at an Israeli military base close to the border of the Gaza strip. Four Israeli soldiers were critically wounded in the attack and many more treated for shock, according to Israeli sources. Approximately 12 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian shell-fire in the past three years. In the last three months almost 60 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed by Israeli attacks.
Speaking to Reuters Hamas spokesman in the coastal region, Fawzi Barhoum, said that the new sanctions are intended to make the Palestinians bow to American and Israeli demands: "They aim to starve our people and force them to bow and accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference,"
On his part the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday afternoon called the Israeli decision a" policy of collective punishment."
Michael Warschawski, an Israeli political analyst, told IMEMC, in a phone interview, that the proposed American peace conference is 'a declaration of war', adding that its aim is to decide how to counter Hamas and the Islamic movement in general in the Middle East.
The Israeli cabinet's decision coincides with the visit to the region of the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. The purpose of the visit is to try to bridge the gap between Palestinian President Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehod Olmert. President Abbas stated this week that he hoped for a positive outcome from the autumn peace conference and has encouraged the Israeli government to make a clear commitment to the peace process. Olmert, for his part, has stated that the Israeli government will only agree to a set of general principles.
Today the Israeli Prime Minister's office told reporters in Jerusalem that sanctions will be implemented as soon as the legality and the humanitarian ramifications are examined.
The Gaza strip, home to1.5 million Palestinians, already is already subject to a strict economic embargo which has been in place since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections. The embargo is supported by the UK, US, EU, Russia, and Israel.
In June Hamas took total control of the Gaza strip after a week of bloody fighting with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which is lead by the President Abbas. Since then the Israeli army has closed all border crossings leading in and out of the Gaza strip. The UN and other aid work agencies have warned of a major humanitarian crisis across the entire coastal region because of the lack of basic supplies.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50504
On Wednesday Israeli Security Cabinet has declared the Gaza strip an "enemy entity", adding that the Israeli government will reduce the amount of fuel and power supplies to the coastal region.
According to Israeli media sources, this move by the Israeli government comes in response to the continuing problem of home-made shells being fired into nearby Israeli towns by Palestinian resistance fighters.
Two weeks ago, Palestinian resistance factions launched several home-made shells at an Israeli military base close to the border of the Gaza strip. Four Israeli soldiers were critically wounded in the attack and many more treated for shock, according to Israeli sources. Approximately 12 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian shell-fire in the past three years. In the last three months almost 60 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed by Israeli attacks.
Speaking to Reuters Hamas spokesman in the coastal region, Fawzi Barhoum, said that the new sanctions are intended to make the Palestinians bow to American and Israeli demands: "They aim to starve our people and force them to bow and accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference,"
On his part the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday afternoon called the Israeli decision a" policy of collective punishment."
Michael Warschawski, an Israeli political analyst, told IMEMC, in a phone interview, that the proposed American peace conference is 'a declaration of war', adding that its aim is to decide how to counter Hamas and the Islamic movement in general in the Middle East.
The Israeli cabinet's decision coincides with the visit to the region of the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. The purpose of the visit is to try to bridge the gap between Palestinian President Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehod Olmert. President Abbas stated this week that he hoped for a positive outcome from the autumn peace conference and has encouraged the Israeli government to make a clear commitment to the peace process. Olmert, for his part, has stated that the Israeli government will only agree to a set of general principles.
Today the Israeli Prime Minister's office told reporters in Jerusalem that sanctions will be implemented as soon as the legality and the humanitarian ramifications are examined.
The Gaza strip, home to1.5 million Palestinians, already is already subject to a strict economic embargo which has been in place since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections. The embargo is supported by the UK, US, EU, Russia, and Israel.
In June Hamas took total control of the Gaza strip after a week of bloody fighting with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which is lead by the President Abbas. Since then the Israeli army has closed all border crossings leading in and out of the Gaza strip. The UN and other aid work agencies have warned of a major humanitarian crisis across the entire coastal region because of the lack of basic supplies.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50504
