Word: gaza
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ISRAEL Palestinians and Israelis in Fierce Battles Israel's armed forces briefly reoccupied part of the Gaza Strip - from which fighters of the Muslim militant organization Hamas had been targeting Israeli positions - before pulling back less than a day later after rare U.S. criticism. Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the offensive an "excessive and disproportionate" retaliation to Palestinian attacks, but also criticized the Palestinians for precipitating violence. In tougher language, the E.U. denounced the bungled land grab - in which orchards were bulldozed, dozens of homes were destroyed and one man was killed - as an "illegal" act that "must...
...want to understand the complexity of the battles being fought in the Gaza Strip, take a look at Adnan al-Ghoul's resume. An activist in the first intifadeh, al-Ghoul was deported by Israel to Lebanon in 1992. There he hooked up with Hizballah. Al-Ghoul sneaked back into Gaza City in 1996 with forged documents, but he still maintains close ties with Hizballah--especially since he runs a major bomb factory in Gaza City, according to Palestinian intelligence officials. Al-Ghoul sells hand grenades for $50 and belts packed with TNT for use in suicide bombs...
...Soon after the Hamas attack, Israel launched its biggest incursion into Palestinian-controlled territory, taking over for a day a swath of Beit Hanoun, a town in the Gaza Strip from which the mortars had been fired. Inside his Cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced criticism that he moved into Beit Hanoun without consulting other ministers. "No, no, we couldn't convene the Cabinet," Sharon said, brushing aside the critics. "I phoned a few ministers though." Sharon didn't phone his Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, until the operation was under way. Bypassing the elder statesman left Sharon diplomatically exposed...
...Hamas has had help from Hezbollah for years. But when the Aqsa intifada erupted last fall, Hezbollah's leaders saw a chance to boost their prestige in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to expand their brand of Islamic revolution to the gates of Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest city. They aren't keen to share the spotlight with Hamas. In the past few months, Hezbollah canceled the training of Hamas operatives in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and in Iran. Hezbollah is still training Palestinians, but when it sends them back to the Gaza Strip or West Bank, they...
...tells TIME. Early in the intifada, Palestinian and Israeli security officials say, Arafat freed Hamas fighters from his jails and gave them a green light to bomb Israeli towns. An agent in Arafat's General Intelligence was suspended in December when he tried to arrest a Hamas cell in Gaza that was planning suicide bombings, according to Palestinian security officials close to the case. The highly mobile mortars allow Hamas to strike fear inside Israel much more easily than with suicide bombs. The mortars fired last week were manufactured by a top Palestinian Authority military officer and sold to Hamas...