A news explosion in Nathania, three Palestinians killed
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 7/20/2001

Three Palestinians were killed including an infant and other four were wounded by the bullets of the Israeli settlers on Thursday evening, near the city of Hebron in the West bank.

Palestinian medical sources said the killed Palestinians were Helmi Muslim al-Tumeizi (20 year old), Muhammadmah al-Tumeizi (22 year old) and the infant Dia Marwan Helmi al-Tumeizi ( 8 months old ) who were in a car, just 10 kilometers to the west of Hebron when they were exposed to bullets fired, 500 meters from a barrier installed by the Israeli army. The victims were coming from a wedding party.

News reports quoted the Israeli radio as saying that a committee formed of extremist settlers released a statement in which it announced responsibility for the attack.

Meantime, an explosion shook Nathania settlement near Tel Aviv. The Israeli TV said that the explosion resulted from a booby trapped car.

Meantime, the Israeli artillery and tanks continued bombarding the Palestinian villages and aggregations in various areas in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Israeli defense minister Benjamin Bin Aleazer threatened of more military acts against the Palestinians while forces of the Israeli army besieged the town of Selfiet and imposed curfew on several villages in the district of Nablus.

News reports said the foreign ministers of the G-7 and Russia agreed on Thursday during their meeting in Genoa, Italy to deploy, in principle UN observers force in the Palestinians areas.

Israeli political sources in Jerusalem stressed on Thursday the rejection of the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to deploy UN observer forces in the Palestinian territories.

These sources said that deployment of this force in the Palestinian territories will only result in further confrontation.

On Thursday, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat has addressed an urgent appeal to the leaders of the G-7 ( besides Russia) who will be meeting in Genoa, Italy to immediately interfere in order to halt the Israeli military aggression and escalation against the Palestinians and to send UN observers to the region so as to ensure the return back of calm and to preserve Christian and Islamic shrines there.

A Palestinian official spokesman said in a statement that Arafat has called for a joint international initiative to be issued by the UN Security Council and backed by the summit of the industrial states ( G-8) to sponsor the Palestinian- Israeli negotiations within the framework of a timetable and a mechanism implemented under the international supervision. The statement stressed that the success of the negotiations requires firm commitment to the signed agreements and UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 194 and the land for peace formula.

On the other hand, the Israeli soldiers violently escalated their bombardment against the Palestinian villages and towns, using tanks and artilleries. News reports said the Palestinian teenagers retaliated by attacking an Israeli military position near al-Rammah village in Ramullah and another military position near Qalndia camp.

In Gaza four- anti tank missiles were dropped at an Israeli military position near Gadid settlement. In a later news, the Israeli military spokesman admitted that the Palestinians inflected heavy damages in the positions bombarded on Wednesday but gave no mention to what sorts of damages they are.

Meanwhile a strong explosion hit Nathania settlement near Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon.

Previous Stories:
  Israeli forces continue bombardment of Hebron, Ramullah   (7/19/2001)
  Middle East: Annan urges consolidation of fragile cease-fire   (7/18/2001)
  Four Palestinians killed, 14 wounded in a new Israeli aggression   (7/18/2001)

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