Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new centrist party on Monday declared Palestinian statehood as a central goal, and Israel indicated it would drop a threat to ban Jerusalem's Palestinians from voting in their parliamentary election, signaling a moderate line for present and future political moves.
But the signs of accommodation were dampened by an announcement of new Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military yesterday fired a barrage of artillery and missiles at the Gaza Strip, hitting two offices of the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and a bridge the army said was used by militants to reach areas where they fire rockets.
PHOTO: EPA
Hours later, about two dozen armed al-Aqsa militants took over the governor's office and two other government buildings in northern Gaza -- the latest outbreak of lawlessness that has undermined the rule of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel's pre-dawn aerial strikes were part of the army's attempt to halt rocket fire on Israeli towns bordering Gaza. Sharon has approved a buffer zone in northern Gaza, although the army said it has not yet implemented the plan. Enforcement -- including firing at anyone who enters the area -- is not likely to begin in the coming 12 hours, the army said.
The army has been destroying roads and other installations used by militants to get to areas that put Israeli towns within range of their highly inaccurate, homemade rockets. The bridge destroyed yesterday has been targeted before.
Since Israel's withdrawal this summer from the Gaza Strip, more Israeli towns -- including the city of Ashkelon -- have come into rocket range. Earlier this month, a rocket landed near Ashkelon's power plant and a fuel depot, alarming Israelis.
The offices of al-Aqsa -- a group with links to the ruling Fatah party -- were targeted because militants used them to meet, plan and recruit, the army said. But Palestinians said the offices were used for social and educational purposes.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
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