(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Palestinian gunmen firing anti-tank missiles and small arms killed Sergeant Major Avi Karuchi, 25, and wounded two other soldiers Sunday in attacks on the Philadelphi Route in the southern Gaza Strip. Soldiers returned fire, killing one of the attackers. Recent weeks have seen an average of 50-80 attacks a week in the Gaza Strip, as opposed to an average of 10-15 in February. Encouraged by its headquarters in Damascus, Islamic Jihad is ignoring the period of calm and various Fatah factions are following suit. Coordination with the Palestinian security forces is very limited. Last week, Israel demanded that the Palestinians post additional policemen opposite the Philadelphi Route and in the area of Khan Yunis, but the Palestinians have been slow to respond and the situation in the area is deteriorating.
2005-06-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive