Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Dozens of Palestinian gunmen stormed the home of deposed Gaza security chief Moussa Arafat before dawn today and killed him, witnesses and police said.
Arafat, 65, a cousin of the late leader Yasser Arafat, was fired earlier this year by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who called an emergency meeting of his security commanders and Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia after the killing. It was not immediately clear who the gunmen were.
Israel, meanwhile, has approved construction of 117 houses in the Ariel settlement in the heart of the West Bank, the government said Tuesday, signaling it will not relinquish the sprawling community that Palestinians complain would cut up their future state.
The announcement – and suggestions that much larger construction projects are in the pipeline – came despite the risk of a U.S. reprimand, just as Israel was reaping the diplomatic benefits of its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza, the first clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian demonstrators since Israel emptied its settlements there resulted in the death of a Palestinian.
Witnesses said dozens of young Palestinians marched on an empty settlement, and Palestinian police tried to stop them. An Israeli tank approached, and some youths threw rocks at it while others stormed into the settlement, Neve Dekalim. Soldiers opened fire, killing one and wounding three others, doctors said.
The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire after 40 to 50 youths ran into the settlement and others climbed on the tank. TV footage showed youths pelting the tank with rocks, then tearing down the fence around the settlement and racing inside.
Although Israel has removed its settlers and torn down houses, the Israeli military retains control over the settlement areas until the formal handover, expected about Sept. 15. Synagogues and some military bases are still intact there.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court stepped into the emotional conflict over whether the Gaza synagogues should be torn down, ordering the government to check into whether the Palestinian Authority, the United States or the United Nations would be willing to preserve the buildings. Rabbis say Jewish law bans destruction of synagogues.
The renewed talk about settlement expansion apparently was part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s attempt to recapture support in his Likud Party after the Gaza pullout. The United States has urged Israel not to expand West Bank settlements.
