Abbas condemns missile strike

A Palestinian man clears the rubble on the roof of a house hit by an Israeli artillery shell in Beit Lahia, following Israeli artillery shelling on the northern Gaza Strip town on Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned an Israeli missile strike near his Gaza office and appealed for international action to stop the attacks, though Israel's apparent intention was to warn the Hamas-led government to stop Palestinian rocket barrages from Gaza.

Israeli war planes on Tuesday fired three missiles into a Gaza security compound where Abbas has his office. The complex is mostly abandoned, and Abbas was in the West Bank at the time. It was the first such Israeli attack since Hamas took power last week.

The military refused to comment about the purpose of the raid, but Abbas did not appear to be the target, either directly or indirectly. Israeli security officials have been saying that Israel needs to send clear messages to Hamas that it must halt attacks, and Israel pledged to intensify its military strikes after Gaza militants fired a Katyusha rocket at Israel last week for the first time.

The missile strike at the compound, hit often in previous years, dug deep craters and wounded two police officers. Abbas' office is about 100m from the targeted security compound.

Abbas, who was elected separately a year ago, called for international intervention to stop what he called Israel's "destruction for the sake of destruction."

He said he contacted "the UN, Russia, the EU and Arab states and told them that these actions complicate daily life and affect our human and social status."

Asked about the possibility that Israel targeted a Palestinian security force that is under Hamas authority, Abbas replied that who is in charge of the various forces is none of Israel's business.

"It is internal business," he said, and Israel "doesn't have the right to interfere."

Abbas controls some of the armed units, and the rest are in the purview of the new interior minister, Said Siyam of Hamas.

Israel and Hamas are sworn enemies. Israel, along with the US and EU, labels Hamas a terrorist group for sending dozens of suicide bombers into Israel, while Hamas does not accept the presence of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

While Hamas does not appear to be directly responsible for the rocket attacks, its leaders have said that militants who attack Israel will not be arrested, justifying a deadly suicide bombing at a West Bank settlement last week as legitimate resistance against Israeli occupation.

Israeli tanks also shelled the northern Gaza Strip, killing one Palestinian and wounding seven, including a mother and her six-month-old baby, Palestinian security and rescue officials said.

The Israeli army said it launched shells at empty fields in northern Gaza to deter militants from launching homemade rockets into Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, militants fired several rockets, causing no injuries. Such barrages take place almost daily.