An Israeli helicopter fired missiles at the home of a suspected militant in Gaza yesterday, wounding at least four people and adding to tension in the territory at the heart of a Palestinian leadership crisis.
After more than a week of unprecedented Palestinian turmoil, mediators tried to mend fences between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, who resigned amid the chaos and calls for reforms to a jumble of security forces.
A helicopter fired at least two missiles into a building in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood that residents said was the home of a militant from the Islamic Hamas group, which has sworn to destroy the Jewish state.
PHOTO: AFP
The apparent target, Abu Malik Jindiah, escaped unhurt. But four bystanders were wounded, medics said. The explosions tore apart the building and sent up a column of thick, black smoke.
The Israeli army made no immediate comment, but an Israeli security source said: "They were looking for Hamas activists."
In addition to the regular Israeli raids, Gaza has been touched by unprecedented internal unrest over the past week that has stirred fears of a Palestinian civil war.
A power struggle, triggered by an Israeli plan to abandon occupied Gaza next year, pits Arafat's old guard against younger members of his Fatah movement demanding the removal of officials seen as corrupt and change in the security forces.
Qurie tendered his resignation over the crisis and though Arafat refused to accept it, the moderate premier has made it clear that he will not withdraw it unless the wily former guerrilla leader makes real changes.
An Arafat aide said that a mediation team had been set up to negotiate between Arafat and Qurie and differences could be resolved at a Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Arafat, who has long resisted calls for reforms that might cost him influence, said on Saturday that he would accept any government changes proposed by Qurie. He also made two new senior security appointments.
Just 5km from Arafat's battered West Bank compound, Israeli troops stormed a Palestinian refugee camp.
Witnesses said they opened fire towards hundreds of youths who pelted them with stones.
Witnesses said the incursion followed a report that an Israeli civilian strayed into Qalandia camp and had come under attack by residents.
There was no immediate word of casualties.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique