Israel has warned Hamas that it will pay a ”deadly price” for a daring raid on Israeli positions on Sunday in which militants killed two soldiers and kidnapped a third.
Members of Hamas played a leading role in the pre-dawn attack, in which gunmen took Israeli forces by surprise and raised the prospect of a major escalation of violence.
Israeli officials also told Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, that they held him responsible and expected him to remain in Gaza until he secured the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier.
The attack, which was carried out by Hamas with the Popular Resistance Committees and a little known group called the Islamic Army, overshadowed attempts on Sunday by Abbas to come to an agreement with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas Prime Minister.
They were due to meet to discuss a joint platform, commonly known as the ”prisoners’ document”. This would entail implicit recognition of Israel and end Palestinian infighting and the isolation of the Palestinian Authority.
The dawn raid seemed likely to undermine the credibility of Hamas as a political player and forced Haniyeh to postpone the meeting to avoid potential assassination by Israel.
It was the first attack by Palestinian militants in Gaza against the Israeli army since it withdrew from the strip last year. In a series of statements, the militants said that the attack was in response to Israeli assassinations and attacks on civilians in recent weeks.
The kidnapped soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit (19) is said to have been injured in the stomach but is receiving treatment in Gaza from his captors.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, said that he held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the attack, including the president and the Hamas-led government, ”with all that implies”.
Israeli ministers met last night to discuss a response to the attack. Options include a full-scale invasion of Gaza or the targeting of Hamas’s political wing, its leaders and ministers. Israel may feel that any action it takes could endanger the life of Cpl Shalit.
On Sunday night, the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister, Nasser Shaer, called on the kidnappers to release Shalit.
Hamas ministers began taking security precautions on Sunday while Mark Regev, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the ministry expected Abbas to secure the release of the soldier. ”Mr Abbas has all the necessary resources, including military resources, to ensure the release of the Israeli soldier. He must prove the seriousness of his intentions. We call on him to remain in Gaza and act immediately to resolve this crisis,” he said.
Aides of Abbas said they believed the Israeli statement carried a veiled threat that he would not be allowed to leave Gaza. Israeli officials denied that the Palestinian president had been told he could not leave.
Kidnapping an Israeli soldier has been a key aim of Palestinian militants for years. They believe it is the only way to force Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli army said that at around 5.30am eight gunmen from Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees entered Israel using a tunnel dug under the security fence. The tunnel extended 300m past the fence guards.
The gunmen split into three groups and approached their targets from behind. One group attacked an empty armoured personnel carrier and another group threw grenades at the tank, which exploded inside, killing two soldiers and severely injuring a third. The last group attacked a 23-metre high observation post.
While the three groups attacked, others fired anti-tank weapons from inside Gaza.
The spokesperson said at least two of the gunmen were killed but the rest managed to escape to Gaza through holes in the perimeter fence.
The two dead Israeli soldiers were named as Hanan Barak (20) who was buried on Sunday, and Pavel Slutsker (20).
Dan Halutz, the Israeli chief of staff, warned that a major invasion of Gaza was possible. Amir Peretz, the Defence Minister, said the militants would pay a ”deadly price” for the attack.
Some Palestinians reacted with jubilation to the success of the attack while others condemned it and tried to distance themselves from it.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, said: ”This is a natural response to the Israeli crimes of killing women and children and the assassination of two leaders.”
Members of Hamas in government took a different tone. Ghazi Hamed, the government spokesperson, told reporters in Gaza City that it had learned of the kidnapping from the Israeli media.
”We are calling on the resistance groups, if they do have the missing soldier … to protect his life and treat him well,” he said.
In a statement, Abbas said that the raid, near the Kerem Shalom crossing, ”violated the national consensus”. He called on the international community ”to prevent Israel from exploiting the attack to carry out large-scale aggression in the Gaza Strip”.
He said that the attack contradicted all assurances he had been given by militant groups in recent negotiations.
Trading Bodies
Kidnapping and the macabre trade of bodies has long been a strategy followed by all sides in the Middle East conflicts. In 2004, Israel released 429 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners and returned 59 corpses in return for the release of one Israeli and three corpses.
At the Erez border crossing between Gaza and Israel there is a poster promising a reward of $10-million to anyone who can provide information about four Israeli servicemen who disappeared during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. Two of the men have been missing since 1982.
The Israeli state’s pledge to bring home its soldiers and civilians, whether dead or alive, has encouraged militant groups to make kidnapping Israelis a priority.
The Israeli army has said that a number of cross-border raids by Hizbullah militants in recent years were attempts to kidnap soldiers. Palestinian militants have also declared their aim to kidnap Israelis to secure the release of their prisoners but have rarely been successful.
The last time Palestinians kidnapped an Israeli soldier was in 1994. Arial Nachson Waxman, a 19-year-old Israeli-American, was killed with his three captors when the house where he was being held was stormed by Israeli commandos.
In 2004 Palestinian groups seized body parts of Israeli soldiers in two separate incidents after they were spread around areas of Gaza in large explosions.
The Israeli army embarked on large operations to recover the body parts which were eventually transferred through the Red Cross after negotiations. – Guardian Unlimited Â