(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - Palestinian militants, including those belonging to the ruling Hamas faction, emerged from a long tunnel dug 300 yards into Israel on Sunday morning, killed two soldiers, wounded three, and kidnapped a fourth wounded soldier at an Israeli military post near the Gaza border. Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19, was the first Israeli soldier kidnapped in more than a decade. A spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, defended the attack on the Arab television channel Al Jazeera. Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "What part of Hamas is responsible is irrelevant. Hamas as an organization has endorsed it. And maybe for those in the international community who are talking about whether there is a new, pragmatic Hamas, this is a wakeup call." Regev added: "Abu Mazen [Abbas] goes to foreign capitals and says, 'I'm the partner you want. I'm the address.' But if he's not a partner in stopping violence, how can he be a partner for peace?"
2006-06-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive