Seven Palestinians were injured, Sharon postpones voting on his plan
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 6/1/2004

The plan advocated by the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw from Gaza unilaterally witnessed a heated debate in Israel.

While the Israeli cabinet started discussion of the plan in its weekly meeting yesterday, Sharon notified the ministers he had decided to postpone voting on it for the next meeting in an attempt to convince its opposers to change their position.

Sharon said in the meeting that the " plan avails to us preserve our national and security interests and rescue Israel from a grave diplomatic bottleneck." Sharon is facing the opposition of prominent ministers in his party, with his opponent and strong rival, the finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In this respect, the Israeli defense minister Shaoul Mofaz considered that the continued Israeli occupation of Gaza is in contradiction with " Israel's security interests." Mofaz who was talking to the Israeli radio yesterday said that any person " looking up to the post of the prime minister should admit that our continued presence in Gaza is in contradiction with our security interests." Mofaz was looming thereby to the finance minister and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meantime, the Israeli mass media reported that 46 Israeli military men called in a petition to the Israeli prime minister to dismantle Natsareim settlement near Gaza, where they had served for a period of time as reserve soldiers.

The signatories- soldiers and army officers from the parachuting unit who refuse to be described as rejecters of the military service for doctrine or religious reasons - said that there is no logical reason to send a complete contingent to guard this settlement which is isolated together with dangerous routes taking to it.

In the battle field, Palestinian security sources said that six Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli occupation forces which incurred in Ramullah city in the West Bank and their wounds were described as not dangerous.

All these came after the killing of three members of al-Qassam group, the military wing of the Hamas movement carried out by Apache Israeli planes at al-Zeitoun quarters to the east of Jerusalem earlier in the day. The Israeli bombardment resulted in wounding nine Palestinians including one woman in a critical health condition.

Previous Stories:
  Israeli escalation in the West Bank, Turkey renews mediation   (5/27/2004)
  Patrick Seale and the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians   (5/26/2004)
  One occupation vehicle is destroyed, Two Israeli soldiers wounded in Gaza   (5/26/2004)
  One Palestinian is killed, three wounded in Balatah camp   (5/25/2004)
  Israeli occupation forces are redeployed in Rafah   (5/21/2004)
  Some 12 Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardment on Rafah   (5/18/2004)

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