Israel vowed yesterday that it would not be restrained in the hunt for Palestinian militants in spite of a US call to move cautiously and renew contacts with the Palestinian leadership.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom signaled that a Gaza air strike which killed eight Palestinians on Thursday would not be Israel's last reprisal for a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis in the coastal city of Hadera earlier this week.
The US strongly urged the Palestinians to rein in militants after Wednesday's bombing but also appealed to Israel for caution and encouraged a resumption of talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that have been put on hold.
"The message cannot be one of silence and restraint after such a terrible attack," Shalom told Israel Radio when asked about the US entreaty. "The terror organizations must know that we will continue to hunt them everywhere, all the time."
Washington appears increasingly concerned about the latest blows to an eight-month-old ceasefire, which have eroded international hopes that the Gaza withdrawal, after 38 years of Israeli occupation, will rekindle peacemaking.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered a broad offensive against Islamic Jihad, which said it carried out the Hadera bombing to avenge Israel's killing of a top West Bank commander on Monday.
Late on Thursday, a missile blew apart a car carrying Islamic Jihad commander Shadi Mhanna, who had overseen the group's cross-border rocket fire into Israel, and three comrades in a Gaza refugee camp. Four bystanders also died.
Islamic Jihad, dedicated to Israel's destruction, vowed revenge. Its initial response was the firing of a makeshift rocket into Israel, causing no damage or casualties.
Israel fired a volley of missiles overnight at Gaza border areas used for rocket launches, and launched three more air strikes yesterday. They hit open areas, causing no casualties.
Responding to Thursday's deadly air strike, the Palestinian Interior Ministry accused Israel of carrying out "terror acts that will not help in restoring security."
Sharon said on Thursday there could be no advance towards peace for now because of the "absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism."
He ruled out talks with Abbas, who had earlier condemned Wednesday's bombing, until he took "serious action" against armed groups.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)