Hard-line group claims responsibility for Eilat rocket attack - Courtney Morgan

A hard-line Islamist group operating in the Sinai claimed responsibility Thursday morning for rockets fired into southern Israel the night before as well as for a series of attacks on Egypt’s gas pipeline to Israel.

The Salafi Front in Sinai issued a statement on a number of Islamist sites saying that its fight was not against Egyptian police but against Jews and Zionists.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email
and never miss our top stories   Free Sign up!

On Wednesday, two large blasts were heard near the Red Sea resort town of Eilat. Officials suspect two rockets were fired from Sinai into Israel, though the rockets had not been found as of Thursday morning.

The group, of which little is known, said it had fired the rockets.

It also said it was responsible for attacks on the gas pipeline from Egypt to Israel. A series of over a dozen attacks in the year since the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak all but cut off vital gas supplies to Israel.

However the terror group said it was not responsible for the killing of 16 Egyptian border policemen earlier in the month that sparked a heavy Egyptian crackdown of Islamist activity in the peninsula.

In the wake of the attack, which ended when a group of terrorists tried to infiltrate Israel with a hijacked armored vehicle, Egypt for the first time since 1973 deployed helicopters and jets to Sinai in a bid to root out the terrorists.

On Wednesday, Salafi Jihadi, one of the largest militant groups in the Sinai, issued a statement calling on Cairo to still its guns or risk dragging the group into a battle it doesn’t want.

The group said its true fight was with the “Zionist enemy,” Reuters reported.

Egyptian officials suspect hard-line Salafis allied with Al-Qaeda and other terror groups are behind the growing lawlessness in the Sinai. Aside from the attack on the border police station in Rafah, there have been a number of shooting attacks on police stations in the peninsula, many of them in northern town of El Arish.

Terrorists operating in the Sinai have also used it as a base from which to attack Israel. A large-scale attack on the road running along the Egyptian border in August 2011 left seven Israelis dead.

Israel is currently working on finishing a fence along the largely rugged and uninhabited border, which it says is designed to keep out illegal African migrants and meant as a security measure.

Eilat rocket strike: Israeli city hit from Sinai - Courtney Morgan

At least two rockets have hit the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

Police said the rockets had landed in open areas, without causing damage or injury. The Israeli military said they were fired from Sinai in Egypt.
Warning sirens went off just before the rockets hit. The city's airport has been closed and security tightened.
Eilat, a popular tourist destination on the Red Sea, has previously been hit by rockets fired by militants in neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
The Egyptian military said it was investigating the incident.
Hours after the attack, a small militant Salafi group, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said it had fired two Grad rockets at "occupied Eilat", in a statement carried on jihadist websites.
About 50,000 people live in Eilat, and tens of thousands of holidaymakers visit every year.
The Israeli military said an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery - designed to intercept short-range missiles - which was positioned near Eilat earlier this month was not deployed in the latest attack.
There were several rocket attacks on the city last year, though no injuries were caused.
Most of the rockets were fired from Sinai, which has become increasingly lawless since the revolution which toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Islamic militant groups have grown in strength there and have used it as a base from which to target Israel across the lengthy shared border.

Israel ready to act on Syria weapons, warns Netanyahu - Courtney Morgan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the BBC that Israel has a right to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands in Syria.

He said that if terrorists seized anti-aircraft and chemical weapons they could be "game changers" in the region.
There have been growing calls for the international community to arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
But there is increasing concern that Islamist militants could use such weapons to further their own causes.
Israel has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian conflict.
But in recent months it has retaliated following Syrian firing into Israeli-controlled areas in the Golan Heights.
Israel first occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move that is not internationally recognised.
Mr Netanyahu, in an exclusive interview with the BBC's Lyse Doucet, said Israel's concern was "which rebels and which weapons?"
"The main arms of concern to us are the arms that are already in Syria - these are anti-aircraft weapons, these are chemical weapons and other very, very dangerous weapons that could be game changers," he said.
"They will change the conditions, the balance of power in the Middle East. They could present a terrorist threat on a worldwide scale. It is definitely our interest to defend ourselves, but we also think it is in the interest of other countries."
'Not aggressive' Mr Netanyahu was in London to attend the funeral of former prime minister Baroness Thatcher, and also held talks with current Prime Minister David Cameron.
Asked if Israel would adopt a more aggressive military stance in Syria, Mr Netanyahu said: "We are not aggressive. We don't seek military confrontation, but we are prepared to defend ourselves if the need arises and I think people know that what I say is both measured and serious."
Mr Netanyahu would not confirm what was widely believed to have been an Israeli air strike on a suspected Syrian government weapons convoy in January.
It was reported that the convoy had been heading for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu also reiterated his view that Iran and its nuclear programme posed a direct threat to world peace, which could only be stopped by a "direct military threat", not sanctions or tough diplomacy.
"Other countries, once they see Iran getting nuclear weapons, will rush to get their own nuclear weapons and then the Middle East will become a tinderbox," he said.
He added that the current North Korea crisis had shown world leaders what could happen when a rogue state acquired nuclear weapons.
"The entire world is paralysed [and] destabilised," Mr Netanyahu said.
"Iran is many times stronger than North Korea, both in GDP and aggressive tendencies. I think there's an interesting change of perception because people can understand what it would be like to have Iran with their imperial ambitions, with their messianic and apocalyptic ideology possess atomic bombs."
Asked about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Mr Netanyahu said the creation of a two-state solution depended "on the Palestinians".
"I'm ready to sit down. I think we shouldn't talk about the talks. We should just get on with it and try to negotiate a real lasting and defensible peace between us.

Fresh Bahrain clashes ahead of Formula 1 race - Courtney Morgan

Barricades of burning tyres have been set up in villages near the F1 race

Fresh clashes have erupted in Bahrain ahead of this Sunday's F1 race in the Gulf kingdom.

Activists have demanded the race be cancelled due to the country's poor human rights record.
But Formula 1's governing body has defended the race, saying it could have a healing effect.
For the past two years members of the Shia majority have been protesting against what they say are human rights abuses by the ruling Sunni minority.
A source in the capital Manama told the BBC that security forces were firing tear gas in a bid to stop protesters reaching a major motorway, the Budaiya highway.
Protesters are reported to be blocking roads with barricades made of burning tyres.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said 13 people had been arrested and that clashes were continuing in villages close to the Sakhir track, the site of the F1 race.
A centre spokesperson said police were firing tear gas and birdshot against protesters in the towns of Sitra and Diraz.

Correspondents say the continuing unrest will be seen as a setback for the interior ministry which is trying to prevent tourists and F1 fans from being affected by the protests.

The latest clashes come after days of escalated tensions.
On Tuesday, police fired tear gas and clashed with students in a raid on a secondary school in the capital, Manama.
Officers stormed the Jabreya school for boys after students staged a protest demanding the release of a colleague arrested on Monday, activists say.
On Sunday a car bomb blew up in the heart of the financial district in Manama, though without causing injuries.
The main opposition society in Bahrain , Al Wefaq, has called for a major protest on Friday, reports the BBC's Bill Law.
Khalil al Marzooq, a senior Al Wefaq leader, said they would not call for protests on the day of the race.
Mr Marzooq also urged all protests to be peaceful.
"We do not support any violence either from security forces or protesters," he said.
While Al Wefaq and other opposition groups repeat their calls for peaceful protest, angry youths are still routinely taking to the streets armed with Molotov cocktails.
There have been almost daily clashes in Bahrain since security forces used birdshot and tear gas to quash a three-day-old peaceful protest at Manama's Pearl Roundabout on 17 February 2011.

Israel bars Gaza runners from first West Bank marathon - Courtney Morgan

The Palestinian Olympic Committee has asked Israel to grant permits to Gazan runners

Israel is refusing permission for Palestinian runners from the Gaza Strip to take part in a marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The race on 21 April will be the first marathon to be held in the occupied Palestinian territory.
But the Israeli military says the athletes do not meet the criteria required to leave Gaza.
Twenty-two Gazan runners, including former Olympian, Nadar al-Masri, hoped to reach the start line.
A woman, Sanaa Abu-Bahit, also planned to participate in a shorter race.
The athletes, the race organisers and the Palestinian Olympic Committee have asked the Israeli authorities to reconsider their position but have not received a reply.
"The Israelis should look at this purely as a sporting event. It has nothing to do with politics," says Samia al-Wazir, the spokeswoman for the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
"This is an event in the West Bank and every Palestinian, not just athletes, should have the right to attend."
Israel strictly controls movement in and out of Gaza making it difficult for Palestinians there to make the short journey to the West Bank.
It also controls entry to the West Bank via the border with Jordan.
'Second disappointment' An Israeli military statement said: "The entrance of the Gaza Strip residents to Israeli territory, and their passage to the West Bank, is possible only in exceptional humanitarian cases, mainly urgent medical cases."
It added that this was because Gaza was ruled by Hamas which Israel considers a "terror organisation".
The decision has been criticised by human rights groups.
Gisha, an Israeli organisation supporting freedom of movement, has sent a letter appealing against the refusal to allow the runners into the West Bank.
"Our clients... would be honoured to participate in the first all-Palestinian marathon," wrote the Gisha Legal Director, Nomi Heger.
She also says that each month the military issues permits for thousands of Palestinians to enter Israel from Gaza, subject to security checks, and that it has defined participation in events sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, like the Bethlehem marathon, as justification for travel.
In the past, Israel has issued permits for Mr Masri to travel via the Erez Crossing, for training abroad and in the West Bank.
The Gazan runners' inability to compete in the Bethlehem marathon is their second disappointment this month.
The United Nations cancelled its annual Gaza marathon after Hamas refused to allow women to take part.
An official Israel Defense Forces blog criticised Hamas for that decision.

Israel bars Gaza runners from first West Bank marathon

By Jon Donnison BBC News, West Bank

The Palestinian Olympic Committee has asked Israel to grant permits to Gazan runners

 

Israel is refusing permission for Palestinian runners from the Gaza Strip to take part in a marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The race on 21 April will be the first marathon to be held in the occupied Palestinian territory.

But the Israeli military says the athletes do not meet the criteria required to leave Gaza.

Twenty-two Gazan runners, including former Olympian, Nadar al-Masri, hoped to reach the start line.

A woman, Sanaa Abu-Bahit, also planned to participate in a shorter race.

The athletes, the race organisers and the Palestinian Olympic Committee have asked the Israeli authorities to reconsider their position but have not received a reply.

"The Israelis should look at this purely as a sporting event. It has nothing to do with politics," says Samia al-Wazir, the spokeswoman for the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

"This is an event in the West Bank and every Palestinian, not just athletes, should have the right to attend."

Israel strictly controls movement in and out of Gaza making it difficult for Palestinians there to make the short journey to the West Bank.

It also controls entry to the West Bank via the border with Jordan.
'Second disappointment'
An Israeli military statement said: "The entrance of the Gaza Strip residents to Israeli territory, and their passage to the West Bank, is possible only in exceptional humanitarian cases, mainly urgent medical cases."

It added that this was because Gaza was ruled by Hamas which Israel considers a "terror organisation".

The decision has been criticised by human rights groups.

Gisha, an Israeli organisation supporting freedom of movement, has sent a letter appealing against the refusal to allow the runners into the West Bank.

"Our clients... would be honoured to participate in the first all-Palestinian marathon," wrote the Gisha Legal Director, Nomi Heger.

She also says that each month the military issues permits for thousands of Palestinians to enter Israel from Gaza, subject to security checks, and that it has defined participation in events sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, like the Bethlehem marathon, as justification for travel.

In the past, Israel has issued permits for Mr Masri to travel via the Erez Crossing, for training abroad and in the West Bank.

The Gazan runners' inability to compete in the Bethlehem marathon is their second disappointment this month.

The United Nations cancelled its annual Gaza marathon after Hamas refused to allow women to take part.

An official Israel Defense Forces blog criticised Hamas for that decision.

Israel ready to act on Syria weapons, warns Netanyahu

Advertisement

Benjamin Netanyahu: "Iran needs to know that if economic sanctions fail, there will be military action"

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the BBC that Israel has a right to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands in Syria.

He said that if terrorists seized anti-aircraft and chemical weapons they could be "game changers" in the region.

There have been growing calls for the international community to arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

But there is increasing concern that Islamist militants could use such weapons to further their own causes.

Israel has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian conflict.

But in recent months it has retaliated following Syrian firing into Israeli-controlled areas in the Golan Heights.

Israel first occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move that is not internationally recognised.

Mr Netanyahu, in an exclusive interview with the BBC's Lyse Doucet, said Israel's concern was "which rebels and which weapons?"

"The main arms of concern to us are the arms that are already in Syria - these are anti-aircraft weapons, these are chemical weapons and other very, very dangerous weapons that could be game changers," he said.

"They will change the conditions, the balance of power in the Middle East. They could present a terrorist threat on a worldwide scale. It is definitely our interest to defend ourselves, but we also think it is in the interest of other countries."
'Not aggressive'
Mr Netanyahu was in London to attend the funeral of former prime minister Baroness Thatcher, and also held talks with current Prime Minister David Cameron.

Asked if Israel would adopt a more aggressive military stance in Syria, Mr Netanyahu said: "We are not aggressive. We don't seek military confrontation, but we are prepared to defend ourselves if the need arises and I think people know that what I say is both measured and serious."

Mr Netanyahu would not confirm what was widely believed to have been an Israeli air strike on a suspected Syrian government weapons convoy in January.

It was reported that the convoy had been heading for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

Mr Netanyahu also reiterated his view that Iran and its nuclear programme posed a direct threat to world peace, which could only be stopped by a "direct military threat", not sanctions or tough diplomacy.

"Other countries, once they see Iran getting nuclear weapons, will rush to get their own nuclear weapons and then the Middle East will become a tinderbox," he said.

He added that the current North Korea crisis had shown world leaders what could happen when a rogue state acquired nuclear weapons.

"The entire world is paralysed [and] destabilised," Mr Netanyahu said.

"Iran is many times stronger than North Korea, both in GDP and aggressive tendencies. I think there's an interesting change of perception because people can understand what it would be like to have Iran with their imperial ambitions, with their messianic and apocalyptic ideology possess atomic bombs."

Asked about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Mr Netanyahu said the creation of a two-state solution depended "on the Palestinians".

"I'm ready to sit down. I think we shouldn't talk about the talks. We should just get on with it and try to negotiate a real lasting and defensible peace between us."

United Arab Emirates arrests 'al-Qaeda terror suspects'

Seven members of an alleged al-Qaeda cell have been arrested over plans to attack targets in the United Arab Emirates, officials tell state media.

The group was planning actions which compromised the Gulf nation's security, according to state news agency WAM.

An unidentified source told the agency the cell recruited people, promoted al-Qaeda and provided finances and logistical support to the organisation.

All seven members are believed to be Arab nationals.

Analysis

Bill Law Gulf analyst

---

The claim that this is a local al-Qaeda cell needs to be treated with caution. The UAE has a track record of rounding up dissidents and branding them as terrorists. Currently 94 people are on trial for allegedly plotting the overthrow of the government. Most are members of a conservative religious society al-Islah that observers say is non-violent. Their only crime may be criticising the UAE rulers. And despite the ongoing allegations that would suggest that the UAE is under constant threat, Dubai and other major cities have been mercifully free of terror attacks. The same cannot be said for neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Last December, the UAE arrested members of what it called a terror cell which it said was planning to attack targets in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Another 94 people, said to be members of an Islamist organisation, are on trial in the UAE charged with plotting to overthrow the government.

The detainees, all Emiratis, include prominent human rights lawyers as well as judges, teachers and student leaders.

An Emirati human rights activist who asked not to be named told the BBC that "it was highly unlikely" al-Qaeda was operating in the UAE.

"I don't put any credibility in what state security says. These kinds of arrests are a pretext for repression."

The UAE is a major oil exporter and key Western ally in the region, comprising seven sheikhdoms run by ruling families.

Up to 80% of its residents are expatriates, lured by work in construction or the lucrative financial sector.

Iraq violence: Baghdad cafe hit by deadly bomb attack

 

At least 27 people, including two children, have been killed and dozens more injured in a bomb attack on a cafe in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials have said.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside the cafe in the west of the city, police said.

No group has said it carried out the attack.

The violence comes ahead of Iraq's provincial elections on 20 April, the first in the country since 2010.

Emergency workers were still trying to pull out victims trapped in the rubble when part of the building collapsed, police told the Reuters news agency.

On Monday, a series of co-ordinated car bomb attacks took place across the country, claiming at least 31 lives and injuring more than 200 people.

Tensions are high between Iraq's Sunni and Shia, amid claims by the Sunni Muslim communities that they are being marginalised by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shia-led government.

Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda have attempted to destabilise the government by stepping up attacks, mainly on Shia but also Sunni targets this year.

Although violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, bombings are still common.

Courtney Morgan - UN suspends Gaza food centres after compound attack

The UN says it is suspending all its food distribution centres in the Gaza Strip after protesters angered by aid cutbacks stormed one of its compounds.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) said the centres would stay closed until it received security assurances for its property and staff.
It said it was trying to mitigate the effects caused by cuts in cash payments to some of Gaza's poorest families.
Unrwa provides aid for an estimated 800,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
It runs dozens of schools and medical clinics and distributes food to many of the territory's 1.7 million residents, but says it is grappling with a huge budget deficit.
Correspondents say the suspension of food aid will cause more hardship for people in Gaza already hit by Israeli and Egyptian controls on its borders.
An Unrwa statement said the storming of its Gaza field office was "a dramatic and disturbing escalation in a series of demonstrations that have taken place over the past week".
"We fully understand the impact the decision to suspend cash assistance had on some of our beneficiaries," Robert Turner, head of the agency's Gaza operations, said in the statement.

There have been days of protests outside Unrwa compounds in Gaza

"What happened today was completely unacceptable. The situation could very easily have resulted in serious injuries to Unrwa staff and to the demonstrators. This escalation, apparently pre-planned, was unwarranted and unprecedented."
He added: "All relief and distribution centres will consequently remain closed until guarantees are given by all relevant groups that Unrwa operations can continue unhindered."
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas which governs Gaza, said they condemned any violence against Unrwa but described the decision to close the food centres as "unjustified".
"When the administration of Unrwa asked the Palestinian security to intervene they arrived and stopped the chaos. We are asking Unrwa to rethink their decision," he said.
Unrwa says financial support for its programmes to help Palestinian refugees hasn't kept up with the deepening poverty of those in need.
It says it is currently grappling with a deficit of more than $67m (£44m).

Courtney Morgan - Iran defiant over talks on its nuclear programme

"We are talking about peaceful nuclear energy," Saeed Jalili said

Iran has again strongly defended its controversial nuclear programme as a new round of talks with world powers began in Kazakhstan.

Chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said the global community must accept Tehran's right to enrich uranium.
International powers suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies.
Iran insists its purposes are purely civilian, asserting it needs enriched uranium to make medical isotopes.
'Practical solution'

Analysis Lyse Doucet Chief international correspondent, Almaty

"The Iranians are engaging, now we want them to negotiate," a senior Western official told me ahead of these latest talks.
He said there had to be more of "you offered that, but we offer this" for Iran to prove it was really interested in moving forward, not just buying time.
Iran will reiterate its right to enrich uranium under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an interpretation the West does not subscribe to. But Iranian officials indicate they may be willing to discuss its level of enrichment as long as demands and incentives are "balanced".
It is seeking more sanctions relief than the limited steps in the revised proposal offered by global powers in February.
Western sources say they want to see confidence-building measures from Iran to bolster its claim that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
The last round of talks in Almaty marked modest progress, although Western descriptions of "useful" contrasted with Iran's talk of a "possible turning point".
Round two will show which way this is turning, if at all.

"We think our talks... can go forward with one word. That is the acceptance of the rights of Iran, particularly the right to enrichment," Mr Jalili said in the city of Almaty - the venue of the talks with Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany (P5+1).

"We are talking about peaceful nuclear energy," he stressed, accusing "a handful of countries" of trying "to deny this right to others".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Madrid on Thursday he hoped for "very meaningful progress" from the negotiations, urging the Iranians to prove their programme was for peaceful purposes.
At the previous round of talks in Kazakhstan in February, the world powers tried to push Tehran to halt production and stockpiling of uranium enriched to 20% - a step away from achieving a nuclear weapons capability.
The P5+1 also demanded Iran shut down the Fordo underground enrichment facility.
In return the world powers suggested easing tough economic sanctions against Iran.
Several rounds of sanctions have squeezed Iran's economy, with oil revenue slashed, the currency nose-diving in value and unemployment growing.
But significant differences reportedly remain on how far both sides are willing to go to reach a mutually accepted compromise.
In March, US President Barack Obama said he had offered Iran a "practical solution" if it truly sought peaceful nuclear capabilities rather than weapons.
He urged the country to take "immediate and meaningful steps" to reduce tension with the international community.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned that it will stop Iran's programme militarily if other means fail.

Courtney Morgan - Iraq: Tikrit police HQ hit by deadly tanker bomb attack

A suicide attacker has blown up a tanker lorry at the police HQ in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing at least nine people, officials say.

A majority of the casualties and injured are thought to have been police officers, AFP news agency reports.
The city, which lies 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, was the hometown of ex-leader Saddam Hussein.
Violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but bombings are still common.
Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda have vowed to step up attacks on Shia and official targets this year, in an attempt to weaken the Shia-led government.
Last week, at least 19 people died and more than 100 were wounded in a spate of car bomb attacks in the northern city of Kilkurk. March saw 271 people killed in attacks across Iraq - the highest death toll for six months.
Political crisis Monday's blast, inside a compound housing various government offices in central Tikrit, left a huge crater and damaged many nearby buildings.
Police say the vehicle may have got through security because it appeared to be a truck making a regular delivery of oil and gas.
The violence comes ahead of provincial elections scheduled to take place on 20 April, as a long-running crisis between Shia and Sunni political leaders shows no sign of easing.
Tensions, especially in Sunni regions of the country, have been exacerbated by the efforts of Iraq's Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to tighten his grip on power, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus.
With the influential Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani - a Kurd - out of action having suffered a stroke, there are renewed fears the country could split along sectarian and ethnic lines, adds our correspondent.

Courtney Morgan - Mali troops search Timbuktu for Islamists rebels

 

A Malian army checkpoint was attacked on Saturday evening (file picture)

French and Malian troops have combed the northern city of Timbuktu searching for Islamist rebels thought to be hiding in homes after fierce fighting.

Militants holed up in a house near the army barracks opened fire as soldiers conducted searches, reports said.
Clashes broke out over the weekend after a suicide bomber attempted to attack an army checkpoint.
Earlier this year, French troops pushed Islamists out of much of northern Mali but sporadic fighting has continued.
Tensions remain high in Timbuktu with militants still believed to be hiding in the town, the BBC's Thomas Fessy, in the capital Bamako, reports.
Several rebels reportedly engaged Malian and French troops in a fire fight on Monday morning from a house by the entrance of the army's barracks, our correspondent says.
The area was cordoned off as residents barricaded themselves in their homes, fearing renewed fighting downtown.
At least three Islamists were killed in fighting on Monday, news agency AFP reported.
Air power The suicide bomber was killed before he could detonate his bomb on Saturday evening. The failed attack was followed by militant attempts to infiltrate the city.
The Malian army, backed by French air power, then moved against the militants.
At least one Malian soldier and two civilians were wounded in Saturday's fighting according to the city's mayor.
But the number of casualties following Sunday's clashes remains unknown.
Another militant attack on the northern town of Gao was repelled on Monday.

 

Islamist rebels have been fighting French and Malian troops in Timbuktu

Islamist rebels seized much of northern Mali a year ago after a military coup in the capital Bamako.
France intervened militarily in January amid fears that the militants were preparing to advance on Bamako. It currently has about 4,000 troops in Mali.
Since the intervention began, major cities including Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu have been recaptured but fighting is still continuing in desert mountains.
Mali's army and troops from several African countries, including 2,000 from Chad, have also been involved in the fighting.
France plans to withdraw its troops from Mali next month, with West African countries expected to take over in the run-up to elections due in July.

Courtney Morgan - Mali crisis: EU troops begin training mission

 

French fighting forces are preparing to begin withdrawing from Mali

An EU mission to train Malian soldiers is due to begin as part of efforts to help the West African country counter an Islamist insurgency.

The first of four Malian battalions will train under European instructors at the Koulikoro base some 60km (37 miles) from the capital, Bamako.
A French-led intervention that began in January has regained the main cities of northern Mali from Islamist groups.
However, fighting continues in the north.
Of the 550 troops from 22 EU nations sent to Mali, about 150 are trainers with the rest made up of mission support staff and force protection.
France is the biggest contributor to the force with 207 troops, followed by Germany with 71, Spain with 54, Britain 40, the Czech Republic 34, Belgium 25 and Poland 20.
Training takes place under the control of French Brigadier General Francois Lecointre and is expected to continue for about 15 months.
"Objectively, it [the army] must be entirely rebuilt," said Gen Lecointre.
"The Malian authorities are well aware of the need to reconstruct the army, very aware that Mali almost disappeared due to the failings of the institution."
Islamic law The first fully trained battalion of Malian troops is expected to be operational in July.
Islamist groups took advantage of a coup in March 2012 to seize the vast north of Mali including major cities including Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.
They imposed a strict form of Islamic law in the area.
France intervened after saying the al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako.
France is now preparing to withdraw its 4,000 troops fighting in Mali, which will be replaced by forces from several West African countries.
French President Francois Hollande said troop levels would be halved by July and reduced to about 1,000 by the end of the year.
The African force in Mali currently numbers about 6,300 soldiers.

Violence reignites along Israel-Gaza border after Palestinian prisoner’s death

DARREN WHITESIDE/Reuters - Palestinian protesters take cover behind old doors during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron, on April 3, 2013.

 

By Joel Greenberg,

Apr 03, 2013 10:15 PM EDT

The Washington PostPublished: April 3

JERUSALEM — The death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody triggered a flare-up of violence across the Israel-Gaza border early Wednesday, but calm later returned to the area as both sides appeared to be stepping back from further confrontation.
A rocket fired into Israel after the prisoner’s death Tuesday triggered an Israeli airstrike overnight. On Wednesday morning, two more rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip. One landed at the entrance to Sderot, an Israeli town near the Gaza border, and another in an open area nearby, causing no damage or casualties, a police spokesman said. Alarms forced residents to take cover as they headed to schools and work.

Photos of the day

U.S. battalion returns to South Korea, historic flooding in Argentina, West Bank rioting and more.

• Yesterday's gallery

Latest stories from Foreign

World Digest: Syrian government warns Jordan over aid to rebels

7:43 PM ET

Thousands march in funerals for Palestinians as tensions mount

Joel Greenberg 1:28 PM ET

Youths clash with Israeli soldiers during marches for slain teens, prisoner who died in custody.

 

 

The Israeli airstrike was the first in the Gaza Strip since a cease-fire ended eight days of cross-border fighting in November.
An al-Qaeda-inspired group, the Mujaheddin Shura Council, said it had fired the latest rockets in support of Palestinian prisoners and in response to the death of the inmate, Maysara Abu Hamdiya. Palestinian officials accused the Israeli authorities of delaying treatment of the prisoner, who succumbed to cancer.
About 4,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails refused meals Wednesday after declaring a three-day hunger strike to protest the death of Abu Hamdiya, 63, who was given a life term for his role in a failed suicide bombing plot targeting Jerusalem, a spokeswoman for the Israel Prison Service said.
The Mujaheddin Shura Council said in its statement that one of its members was arrested after Tuesday’s rocket attack, suggesting that the authorities in Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist group Hamas, were working to prevent further attacks and maintain the cease-fire with Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement that Israel viewed Hamas as responsible for any firing from Gaza, adding, “We will absolutely not allow a routine of sporadic shooting at our citizens and forces.”
The chief Israeli army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said the military would not accept a return to the conditions that prevailed before its November offensive in Gaza, which was launched to halt repeated rocket fire. “The aim is to maintain quiet in the south of the country,” he said.
Although the exchanges of fire appeared to have stopped, the dispute over the death of the prisoner continued. The Palestinian Authority released an affidavit taken by a lawyer who visited Abu Hamdiya last month, citing a months-long delay in his referral for hospital examination and a lack of treatment for what was diagnosed in January as throat cancer, five months after the prisoner first complained of severe throat pain.
Israel Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said she would not comment pending an internal review of the case.
The latest exchanges drew an expression of concern from Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. “The United Nations condemns the indiscriminate firing of rockets into civilian areas and calls on Israel to act with restraint,” Serry said in a statement, warning that the violence threatened to unravel the cease-fire.
Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops also erupted in the West Bank, and a teenager was fatally shot near the town of Tulkarm. An army spokeswoman said soldiers in a post near an Israeli settlement opened fire after they were attacked with molotov cocktails, hitting one of the assailants. Israeli media said that the soldiers fired from a fortified guard tower and that the army was checking whether they had followed the rules of engagement.
Meanwhile, tensions heightened along Israel’s increasingly volatile frontier with Syria, whose civil war has threatened to spill over into the Israeli-held Golan Heights. On Tuesday night, an Israeli tank targeted a Syrian position after shots were fired at an Israeli border patrol, the army said. Earlier, a mortar shell landed in Israeli-held territory, according to the military.
Yaalon warned that Israel would respond to any shooting from Syrian territory, regardless of whether it was stray fire.
“The minute we identify the source of fire, we’ll destroy it without hesitation,” he said.

Islam Abdel Karim in Gaza contributed to this report.

 

West Bank Funerals Become Displays of Palestinian Defiance

By ISABEL KERSHNER

Published: April 4, 2013   

JERUSALEM – The funeral of a Palestinian prisoner who died of cancer in Israeli custody set off displays of angry defiance on Thursday in the West Bank city of Hebron. Masked gunmen loyal to the Palestinian president fired into the air to underscore calls for vengeance, and clashes broke out between Israeli soldiers and youths burning tires and hurling stones.

 

Darren Whiteside/Reuters

In the northern West Bank on Thursday, hundreds of people participated in the funeral of two Palestinians who were shot dead by Israeli troops late Wednesday during clashes near a military checkpoint.

Farther north, near the city of Tulkarm, the burial of two other Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces late on Wednesday also became a rallying point for mourners calling for continued resistance against Israeli occupation.

Unrest in the West Bank, which has been simmering for several months, has raised the specter of a wider explosion of violence with some Palestinians in Hebron calling for a new uprising to liberate Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The charged atmosphere did not bode well for diplomacy, with Secretary of State John Kerry expected in the region next week in part to try to find a formula to restart peace negotiations.

The Palestinian leadership accused Israel of harming the American effort.

“This escalation proves that the Israeli government only looks at reality through brute power, settlement activities and Judaization,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement.

Thousands in Hebron attended the funeral of the prisoner, Maysara Abu Hamdiya, 64, who died of cancer that, according to an Israeli autopsy, began in the vocal cords and had spread to the lungs, neck, chest, liver, spine and ribs. The Palestinians have accused the Israeli authorities of deliberately delaying his diagnosis and treatment. The Israel prison service said a committee would examine the circumstances of his death.

A retired general in the Palestinian Authority security services, Mr. Hamdiya was buried with military honors. He was detained by Israel in 2002, at the height of the second Palestinian uprising, and was serving a life term for attempted murder for his involvement in a failed suicide bombing in a Jerusalem cafe.

The thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails hold a hallowed place in Palestinian society as heroic fighters for the cause, and Mr. Hamdiya’s death has stirred outrage. Mr. Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, have been among Palestinians accusing Israeli of embracing a policy of medical negligence. The Palestinian Authority’s minister of prisoner affairs, Issa Qaraqe, attended Mr. Hamdiya’s funeral along with many local dignitaries.

Mr. Hamdiya’s hometown, Hebron, in the southern West Bank, is notoriously volatile, with a few hundred Jewish settlers living amid about 170,000 Palestinians.

His death appeared to have unified the deeply divided Palestinians, at least temporarily. Flags of all the rival political and militant factions were raised in the crowds, including those of Fatah, the mainstream secularist party led by Mr. Abbas, and its rivals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

With Palestinians in the city on a general strike, dozens of masked militiamen of Fatah’s Al Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade, who have mostly lain low in recent years, attended the funeral.

In a speech to the crowd, a spokesman for the group said, “We will not allow the Israelis to kill our people, especially the prisoners.”

He added, “We are calling on President Abbas to give us a green light to react to what happened to Maysara Abu Hamdiya.”

The Israeli military reported groups of stone-throwing Palestinians on the main road leading to Hebron and at another location in the northern West Bank.

Mr. Hamdiya’s death was also the apparent cause of a flare-up of violence across the Israel-Gaza border this week. A small Islamic extremist group fired rockets into southern Israel, saying it was acting in support of the Palestinian prisoners, and Israel retaliated late Tuesday night with an airstrike in Gaza, its first since a cease-fire that ended eight days of cross-border fighting in November. That front appeared to have largely quieted by Thursday.

But the potential for confrontation in the West Bank could be seen late Wednesday when youths protesting the death of the prisoner clashed with soldiers at an Israeli army post near the West Bank city of Tulkarm. The Israeli military said that the youths were hurling firebombs at the soldiers, who responded with live fire. Amer Nassar, 17, was killed on the spot. The body of Naji Balbisi, 18, was found in the early hours of the morning.

Thabet Amal, the mayor of Anabta, the village near Tulkarm where the youths lived, told the official Voice of Palestine radio that both had been shot in the chest. The Israeli military said it was investigating the episode.

Nayef Hashlamoun contributed reporting from Hebron, West Bank.

Iran defiant ahead of nuclear talks

"We are talking about peaceful nuclear energy," Saeed Jalili said

Continue reading the main story

Iran nuclear crisis

• Would Israel launch an attack?
• Issue stalks poll
• Q&A: Nuclear issue
• Key nuclear sites

Iran has again strongly defended its controversial nuclear programme ahead of a new round of talks with world powers in Kazakhstan.

Chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said the global community must accept Tehran's right to enrich uranium.
International powers suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies.
Iran insists its purposes are purely civilian, asserting it needs enriched uranium to make medical isotopes.
'Practical solution' "We think our talks... can go forward with one word. That is the acceptance of the rights of Iran, particularly the right to enrichment," Mr Jalili said in the city of Almaty - the venue of the talks with Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany (P5+1).
"We are talking about peaceful nuclear energy," he stressed, accusing "a handful of countries" of trying "to deny this right to others".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Madrid on Thursday he hoped for "very meaningful progress" from the negotiations, urging the Iranians to prove their programme was for peaceful purposes.
At the previous round of talks in Kazakhstan in February, the world powers tried to push Tehran to halt production and stockpiling of uranium enriched to 20% - a step away from achieving a nuclear weapons capability.
The P5+1 also demanded Iran shut down the Fordo underground enrichment facility.

The February round of talks ended without a breakthrough

In return the world powers suggested easing tough economic sanctions against Iran.
Several rounds of sanctions have squeezed Iran's economy, with oil revenue slashed, the currency nose-diving in value and unemployment growing.
But significant differences reportedly remain on how far both sides are willing to go to reach a mutually accepted compromise.
In March, US President Barack Obama said he had offered Iran a "practical solution" if it truly sought peaceful nuclear capabilities rather than weapons.
He urged the country to take "immediate and meaningful steps" to reduce tension with the international community.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned that it will stop Iran's programme militarily if other means fail.