ISRAELI TANKS crossed into Gaza after two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen were killed in an earlier clash yesterday in what was the most serious incident since the war in the Hamas-controlled territory last winter.
Palestinian sources in Gaza said five tanks and two armoured bulldozers advanced while firing towards Khan Younis in the middle of the rectangular enclave bordering the Mediterranean in Israel’s extreme south, next to the border with Egypt.
According to an Israeli military spokesman, soldiers had earlier crossed over the border in the south of the Gaza strip after spotting militants planting a mine close to the fence. Clashes ensued and a loud explosion was heard.
Hamas and a number of smaller militant groups claimed responsibility, saying the Israeli forces fell into a militant ambush.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak warned that Hamas would “pay the price for changing the rules of the game” in Gaza. Israel holds Hamas, which seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007, solely responsible for all activity in Gaza.
Reports from Gaza last night said Hamas officials had gone underground, fearing Israeli retaliatory strikes. The clash follows a week of tit-for-tat violence, with Israel carrying out air strikes in response to rocket attacks.
The upsurge in violence came as Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu met six senior ministers in Jerusalem to decide how to respond to demands from US president Barack Obama, who seeks to renew peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
No statement was issued after the meeting and further consultations will take place over the weekend. Ahead of the meeting, Israeli officials said the ministers would agree to a number of goodwill gestures, but construction in east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, would continue.
The Obama administration did not outline the commitments it required from Israel, but according to media reports in the US and Israel these included:
- A halt to construction in east Jerusalem;
- An extension of the 10-month freeze on West Bank settlement construction, which expires in September;
- A commitment to a two-year deadline for the peace talks with the Palestinians;
- An agreement to discuss all the core issues;
- Easing of the blockade on Gaza;
- The release of up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners; and
- Additional steps to improve day-to-day life for Palestinians in the West Bank.