Haniyeh denounces Israeli killings 

Source: CCTV.com

10-24-2006 09:22

Violence has marred the Muslim holiday and Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, has condemned Israel for killing seven Palestinians at the start of Eid al-Fitr. This is the three-day Muslim holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Monday's attacks in northern Gaza were one of the bloodiest in almost four months of fighting in the region.

Israeli tanks and troops moved into northern Gaza early on Monday. The search was for militants who regularly fire rockets into border Israeli-towns.

Israeli media say forces ambushed armed Palestinians, engaging them in a battle that killed seven gunmen. Twenty others were reportedly wounded.

But local residents say Israeli forces first opened fire on three gunmen... who were paying their condolences to the family of a militant killed by Israeli soldiers in an earlier incident. They claim this triggered a gun-battle between other militants and Israeli forces.

Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, has condemned the killings on Eid al-Fitr, one of the two most important festivals in the Islamic world.

Haniyeh said, “The Palestinian government condemns this massacre and we call on the international community to take responsibility for protecting the Palestinian people and Palestinian land. We also call our brothers, the Arab countries, who have signed agreements with the Israelis, to intervene in order to stop this aggression and protect the Palestinians.”

On Monday, crowds marched through Gaza city streets, as part of a funeral procession for one of the seven killed in the attack. The six remaining will be buried on Tuesday.

One of the dead, Atar Shinbari, was a senior commander of the Popular Resistance Committee. This is a militant group known for its frequent rocket-fire into southern Israel.

The spokesman for the group has already responded to the leader's death. He's saying the Committee will have its revenge.

Editor:Sun Luying