Two Fatah activists early Monday were shot dead by Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Palestinian sources reported. Also in Rafah city, five Palestinian owned houses were demolished.
Also in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian farmworker as he tilled a field near an army post in Khan Yunis, Palestinian sources reported.
A day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, the Israeli government re-imposed a tight closure on the Gaza Strip.
During Powell's visit, Israel said it was releasing dozens of Palestinian prisoners; easing roadblocks that hamper Palestinian travel and work restrictions for those employed in Israel; and expanding Palestinian fishing rights off Gaza. At least 61 Palestinian prisoners were released Sunday and Israel Radio said a total of 200 are to be released by Monday.
However, the Palestinian Minister in charge of detainees’ affairs, Hisham Abdel Raziq dismissed the conciliatory moves as cosmetic, saying that those released “would all have been freed within the next few days and the longest any of them had been in jail was 12 days.”
In the West Bank, four Palestinian detainees escaped from an Israeli detention camp overnight Monday. However, Palestinian sources said that only three prisoners escaped, including two Islamic Jihad activists and one Fatah activist.
The prisoners' absence was discovered during the morning attendance call at Ofer camp, west of Ramallah.
The prisoners had dug a tunnel under the fence. A few hours later, the Islamic Jihad announced that the four activists were in "safe place."
Meanwhile, Nabil Shaath, a top Palestinian official, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that the Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas accepted an invitation from Israeli premier, Ariel Sharon to meet before the latter goes to Washington on May 20 to see President Bush. "We see no other game in town," Shaath said. "This is the only way available now for peace." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
