Palestina

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — The Palestinian territories are in a state of near civil war and just one act of violence, such as a high-profile assassination, could trigger total mayhem, an international think tank said on Tuesday.

Jordan strongly condemns policies of ‘random, unjustified killing’, demands halt to operations RAMALLAH —  As Israel tried to extricate itself from blame for Friday’s beach bombing, another deadly missile attack in Gaza killed 11 people yesterday, eight of them civilian, among them two children and three medical workers.

The ruling party in Palestine, HAMAS, accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of preparing a coup against the government. HAMAS spokesman Mushir al Masri spoke about Abbas’ calling

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to seek a strong European stand against the Hamas-led Palestinian government and Iran’s nuclear programme as he begins his first visit to Britain and France on Sunday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Al Qaeda in Iraq vowed on Sunday to carry out attacks to “shake the enemy” after the killing of its leader Abu Mussab Zarqawi, heightening fears his death will bring no respite from carnage.

RAMALLAH — Israeli air strikes yesterday killed two members of the Izzedine Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, while a Palestinian rocket, claimed by the brigades, seriously wounded an Israeli in the town of Sderot on the border with Gaza.

RAMALLAH — As thousands thronged the streets of Gaza for the funeral of seven people killed Friday in an Israeli shelling, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas upped the tensions between him and the Hamas-led Palestinian government by announcing a July 26 referendum on the so-called Prisoners’ Document.

GAZA (Reuters) — The Fateh faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas group agreed on Wednesday to halt their clashes even as they headed for a showdown over Abbas’s threat to hold a referendum on a statehood proposal. Violence flared at the Gaza border with Israel as Israeli …

RAMALLAH — Fateh yesterday deployed a new security force in Jenin in an apparent response to the unit created by Hamas in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

GAZA CITY (AP) — The Hamas-led government said Tuesday it will pay partial salaries to its 165,000 employees, the first payday for increasingly desperate Palestinian workers in three months.