GAZA, Feb 11: Israeli troops killed at least 14 Palestinians in gunbattles in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, in raids what Israel said to root out militants behind attacks on Jewish settlements.
The army assault followed signs of unease in the military over a shock announcement by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week that he planned to pull all settlers out of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian witnesses said soldiers backed by tanks moved near dawn into Shijaia, a militant stronghold in the densely packed Gaza City, opening fire and drawing a response from the masked gunmen using assault rifles and anti-tank rockets.
Medics said 12 Palestinians, including at least six gunmen and one policeman, were killed. Another two were shot dead in another raid on the southern Gaza refugee camp of Rafah. Scores were wounded.
Among the dead were Hani Abu Skhaila, a senior activist of the Hamas faction, and the 17-year-old son of Ahmed Helles, a leader of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
The violence dealt a fresh blow to hopes of reviving talks on a US-backed peace plan and Hamas militants urged "major suicide bombings" on Israel in revenge. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorie called the raid a crime.
Israel's army said Palestinian "terror cells" had attacked with anti-tank missiles, bombs and gunfire. It said it hit at least 10 gunmen in an operation "aimed to thwart continued mortar and missile attacks at Israeli targets". "We are on search missions for terrorists. We are trying to destroy terrorist infrastructure," Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said.
WARNING TO ISRAEL: Thousands of chanting mourners, firing occasional shots, surged through Gaza, bearing the dead through the waving flags of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah.
"Sharon, prepare body bags," shouted one activist through a loudspeaker. "Sooner or later your bodies will be collected off the streets, in markets and in restaurants."
Haaretz newspaper quoted Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz on Wednesday as saying that removing settlers from Gaza would not necessarily mean a full military withdrawal and the army might keep some areas as "bargaining chips". -Reuters
