Israel strikes Gaza shortly after Palestinian unity deal

GAZA CITY: An Israeli warplane struck the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday wounding six people, one very seriously, the territory's Hamas rulers said.

The raid came as thousands took to the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the announcement by Hamas and the PLO of an agreement to form a unity government to end seven years of divided administration.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The rival Palestinian movements had agreed shortly before the strike to form a unity government of independents within five weeks under the leadership of the West Bank-based Palestinian president.

“An agreement has been reached on the formation within five weeks of an independent government headed by president Mahmud Abbas,” said a joint statement read out by Hamas's Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniya standing alongside a visiting delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

It was not the first time that the bitter rivals announced a deal to end their feud.

But the new bid by the Palestinian leadership to reconcile with Hamas drew an angry reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said it showed it was not serious about 11th-hour efforts to salvage US-brokered peace negotiations.

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On DawnNews

دبئی کنسرٹ میں ارجیت سنگھ ماہرہ خان کو پہچاننے سے قاصر، معافی مانگ لی

24 سال تک اپنے ہی گھر کے تہ خانے میں قید رہنے والی لڑکی کی لرزہ خیز داستان

پاکستان بچوں کو محفوظ بچپن فراہم کرنے میں ناکام کیوں ہے؟

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Comments (8) Closed

Ayesha

Apr 23, 2014 10:10pm

What great vengeance Natenyahu can hold in his heart, it knocks out brains. Israel cannot survive without creating panic, chaos, and casualties. And when they act in such a manner, then the UN Security Counsel is deaf, dumb, and blind.

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independentthinker

Apr 23, 2014 11:11pm

So much can be achieved - just by staying united! I can see Israel being nervous. I hope and pray Palestinians get their freedom and self-respect, after so many years of oppression.

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Tower

Apr 24, 2014 12:19am

No processions on the streets as yet....is everyone sleeping?

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Nikos Retsos

Apr 24, 2014 12:26am

Already he U.S. has announced its disapproval of the Palestinian Unity agreement, and it would certainly press is European allies to do the same. There s a saying here in the U.S. that says: "The U.S. foreign policy is made in Israel and implemented by the U.S. Israel has already strong objections about Palestinian unity because it prefers the Palestinians to be disunited, which makes them easily manipulated by Israel. And with the U.S bowing dutifully to Israeli demands, I expect a U.S., Israel, and European sabotage campaign against this treaty to continue as it has for 66 years. Unfortunately, the U.S. and Israel still stigmatize the Palestinians as "terrorists" to discredit them and confiscate their territory, while he Europeans bowing to U.S. pressure and fiddle with the Palestinian issue from the sidelines. Nikos Retsos, retired professor, USA

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Salman

Apr 24, 2014 12:50am

@Nikos Retsos Thank you Mr. Retsos for your insightful comment. This shows that there are people in the US who have enlightened views on the Palestinian ordeal.

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independentthinker

Apr 24, 2014 02:58am

@Nikos Retsos I totally agree with you - however, with Russia and China leaning towards the Palestinians, I can see something positive coming out of this. As for the European Union, yes, they are influenced by the Americans, but I still feel, they can play an impartial role in all this. At the end, I believe it will be Israel and the United States and I am not sure how long can the American people continue to tolerate injustices being done to the Palestinians. I can already see cracks in their support for the Israelis.

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Jalaluddin S. Hussain

Apr 24, 2014 02:58am

@Nikos Retsos, Palestinian unity, Zindabad!

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AZMAISH

Apr 24, 2014 04:28am

A childhood friend who's family fled to Karachi from Palestine still shed tears for the loss of their beautiful homes where lemon and olive groves flourished, which were stolen from them in Ramallah. These friends are Palestinian Christians who whenever they return to visit their former homeland, the Israelis treat them like criminals. They have to go through endless searches, security checkpoints, etc. etc.. This is what creates anti-Isreal resentment among all Palestinians - be they Christians or Muslims. There will only be justice for all of them when they educate their children so they can fight back with brains, not brawn against a power which is fully backed by the Big Brother.

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