Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli shell fire in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon.
Israeli forces went on high alert Wednesday, the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday. A full closure has been imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In Nablus, occupation forces nabbed 12 Palestinians early Wednesday. One Palestinian was also wounded. Elsewhere, Israeli jets attacked an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades office in Gaza City on Wendesday.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-led government is willing to give Israel a de facto recognition in return for full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip and the creation of a viable and territorially-contiguous state within the 1967-borders, according to sources close to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniya.
The sources described "the change of policy" as "significant." "What it means is that the Palestinian government is willing to recognize Israel if Israel met certain conditions, including a complete withdrawal from the territories Israel occupied in 1967," a source told IRNA Wednesday.
The source added that he expected the "new posture" to be announced officially by Haniya in the coming few days.
If true, the new development will constitute a significant departure from Hamas' erstwhile attitudes which negates Israel's right to exist.
