Four Palestinians killed, clashes continue
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 4/23/2004

The Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon described the American support for its withdrawal plan from Gaza as an unprecedented success since the foundation of Israel.

Sharon said in the Israeli Knesset that the Palestinians have recognized that the written guarantees he had got from the US President George W. Bush is the most dangerous setback they were exposed to since the independence of Israel in 1948, as he alleged.

Sharon considered that Israel might lose unprecedented American guarantees in case opposers to the withdrawal plan from Gaza in the referendum to be held on May 2nd over this initiative. The referendum will be held by the Likud party.

Sharon started to defend that plan in front of the parliament after an opinion poll revealed that his initiative has only the support of 44% of Likud members.

Meantime, the Palestinian president Yasser Arafat denied the existence of wanted individuals from Fatah movement inside his headquarters in Ramullah. He told reporters that only one wounded is now inside the headquarters due to his health condition.

News reports said earlier in the day Arafat asked 21 wanted men from the Fatah movement to leave the presidency headquarters.

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary of the Fatah movement, said that some 12 Palestinians from the Fatah movement left the headquarters during the past five days at their own decision to refute any justifications to break into Arafat's headquarters or embarrass him.

This step coincided with the announcement made by the Palestinian prime minister Ahmad Qurei' that his cabinet is discussing to submit a collective resignation in protest of the shift in the US policy which is bias to Israel.

In the battle field, Palestinian medical sources said that one Palestinian youth was killed and other two wounded yesterday by the Israeli army fire in Beit Lahia to the north of Gaza.

The sources said that Muhammad al-Malfouh ( 16 year old) was killed after he was hit in the neck by a bullet fired by the occupation soldiers from tanks that incurred in Abraj al-Nada quarters in Beit lahia. Witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers retaliated with live bullets against the stones which were thrown by the Palestinian youths.

These developments took place following the killing of three Palestinians yesterday at dawn during a fire exchange in Toulkarem in the West Bank between the Israeli forces and armed Palestinians after the occupation forces broke into al-Salam quarters in the eastern entrance of the city.

News reports said that two of the killed Palestinians are members in al-Aqsa martyrs groups, while the third is member in the military wing of the Hamas movement. The reports added that al-Aqsa martyrs groups threatened to revenge the crime.

Previous Stories:
  14 were killed in Gaza, 95 wounded; Bush: the world is grateful for Sharon   (4/22/2004)
  New massacre in Gaza: five killed, 25 wounded; EU proposes to take part in the separation plan   (4/21/2004)
  Quartet meets to discuss Sharon plan   (4/17/2004)
  Sharon seeks to exclude al-Quds from negotiations, palestinian diplomat   (4/16/2004)
  Some 20 Palestinians were injured in an Israeli bombardment against Rafah   (4/16/2004)
  Some 22 Palestinians wounded by occupation forces, Arafat: Bush- Sharon deal is an illegal act   (4/15/2004)

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