(AP/Washington Post) Barry Schweid - While affirming an Israeli right to self-defense, the State Department on Monday chided Israel for imposing travel restrictions on West Bank Palestinians after Palestinian gunmen killed three Israelis and wounded five in drive-by attacks. In a message delivered privately by Lt. Gen. William Ward, the U.S. security envoy in the region, the State Department said it continued to ask the Israeli government "to take steps to ease the daily plight of the Palestinian people." Palestinian fighters, convinced their attacks succeeded in driving Israel to relinquish Gaza to the Palestinians last month, now appear to be shifting that strategy to the West Bank, according to Israeli intelligence.
2005-10-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive