The army pulls out from northern Gaza, the Israeli government vows to continue its attacks

Monday March 03, 2008 22:41

by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Israeli army announced on Monday that all troops that were deployed in the northern part of the Gaza strip since Saturday polled out and were deployed at the borders.

Gaza civilian killed on Satruday - Rueters

the Israeli attacks escalated on Wednesday, the army started a meager ground offensive and air raids operation on Saturday at dawn, , the operation last until Monday morning, leaving 116 Palestinian killed an over 300 injured.

Over the past three days the Israeli army shelled residential areas and civilians in the streets at the Jabaliya town and the nearby Refugee camp. Troops used local homes as shot out posts.

Medics were also prevented by the army to reach the injured, which increased the death toll. On Saturday alone 56 Palestinians were killed among them were 45 civilians of whom 20 were children the youngest were 2 days old.

The Israeli army that the aim of this operation is to stop the Palestinian home made shell fire from the Gaza strip into nearby Israeli towns.

The Palestinian resistance continued shell Israeli towns, Israeli sources said that since Saturday 60 home made shells hit the southern Israeli towns and injured at least 4 Israelis.

Ehod Olmert, the Israeli prime Minister, stated on Monday that Israeli has the right to defend its self from the home made shells and called the operation as a successful. Olmert added that" Nothing will stop us from attacking Gaza."

Meanwhile the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza strip since June 2007 after several months of bloody infighting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, clamed victory on Monday and said that the Israeli army failed top stop the firing of home made shells into Israeli.

Khalil Abu Lilah, a Hamas leader in Gaza told IMEMC, "the fact that most of the killed and injured are civilians and not resistance fighters show that the army failed."

The Palestinian President halted talks with the Israelis on Sunday in protest of the attacks on Gaza, the president said that the talks will continue if Israeli stops its attacks. Mohamed Al Hurani, a leader of the Fatah movement in the West Bank said that Israeli is not will to continue peace talks, " Israeli continue to attack Gaza, build the wall, and change facts on the ground, they are not entrusted in achieving peace."