Four Palestinians killed; Qassam missiles at Sdeirout; five new settlements
Palestine-Israel, Military, 6/16/2003

The Israeli "Peace Now" movement disclosed that the settlers established, secretly, five new settlements sites in the West Bank since Israel had started to dismantle such similar sites last week, while four Palestinians were killed and five wounded in confrontations with the Israeli army.

Yariv Obinhimer, of the Peace Now movement which monitors settlement activity, said that the Israeli prime Minister Ariel Sharon "was not serious when he said he will dismantle the settlement sites." The movement reported that there is only one site of the five new sites in Neve Tasouv near Ramullah.

At al-Aqaba talks with the Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas and the US President George W. Bush, Sharon vowed to dismantle unlicensed sites in the context of reciprocated measures advocated by a peace plan. Last week the Israeli army removed the unlicensed outposts where none of them was inhabited.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli ministry of defense said that there are plans to "dismantle some of the other isolated sites shortly," no decision was taken concerning the timing and place of evacuation.

The spokesman for Yasha council for settlers, Ezra Rosenfield, who represents 200,000 settlers in the West Bank and Gaza refused to comment on the new settlement sites, but he stressed that "for each removed site, we will build two new ones." On the other hand, Palestinian witnesses and medical sources said the Israeli forces killed one Palestinian at his house yesterday at dawn in north Gaza. The sources added that a disguised Israeli unit entered the house of Muhammad al-Zouni ( 30 year old), member of al-Aqsa martyrs groups and killed him. The sources indicated that two other Palestinians were wounded during clashes with the unit.

On Saturday, Palestinian security sources announced that the Israeli army incurred to the east of the city of Rafah to the south of Gaza and leveled an area of 100 dunnums and demolished seven Palestinian homes.

Sources in the Israeli police said that one Palestinian Qassam missile fell yesterday near the cemetery of Sdeirout in the heart of Negev desert. The sources said that the missile which was fired from north of Gaza resulted in no damages.

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian killed in Gaza, Arafat meets security departments heads   (6/14/2003)
  Hamas warns foreigners to leave Israel, threaten Sharon   (6/13/2003)
  Seven Palestinians killed in Israeli missile bombardment in Gaza, 16 Israelis were killed in a Palestinian operation in Jerusalem   (6/12/2003)
  Thousands of Israeli settlers demonstrate in Jerusalem: dismantling settlements is a surrender to terrorism   (6/5/2003)
  Hamas, al-Jihad, al-Shabeya will not drop their guns, will avoid inter- fighting   (6/5/2003)
  Amnesty international: Israel commits war crimes against the Palestinians   (5/31/2003)

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