Israeli Army Launches Offensive Into Gaza Strip
Nji Che - All Headline News Staff Writer Gaza, Gaza Strip (AHN) - The Israeli army on Wednesday launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip area, the first after it quit the territory last year. The move was aimed at putting more pressure on militants to release an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped from the army last weekend. Heavily armed Israeli forces set up a strategic post from where they launched an occupation backed by helicopters and other arsenal. On the other side of barricades, gunmen waited to respond to attacks. The abducted soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped three days back. The offensive was launched a day after Hamas and Fatah, the two rival Palestinian factions agreed on a resolution that implicitly recognized Israel. According to a Palestinian official, the plan allowed for a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel. The Fatah movement had been working to persuade the extremist Hamas group to endorse the document which calls for the settlement of the conflicts between "Israel and Palestine," thereby recognizing the sovereignty of the Jewish state. The Hamas movement's current policy calls for the destruction of the Jewish nation using force. It categorically rules out the use of peace to settle their long running land disputes. The Tuesday agreement came amid tension with Israel over the abduction of Shalit. Palestinian authorities have suffered lately from inadequate funds to ru |
