Hamas delegation in Egypt for unity talks

At least four Palestinian activists were killed on Monday in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers along the border of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, the deadliest such incident in months, medics said. The incident, which reportedly involved horses, came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mulling in the face of increasing US pressure whether to ease a crippling blockade imposed on the territory, according to senior officials.The bodies of the four activists killed on Monday had explosives belts around them and two of the bodies were torn to shreds by explosions, the medics said after retrieving the remains.At least another 12 Palestinians were wounded in the fighting near the Nahal Oz crossing with Israel east of Gaza City, they said. The crossing, through which all fuel crosses into the territory, was shut following the clash. An Israeli army spokesman said that troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunship, opened fire after they saw gunmen on the Gaza side of the border placing explosives near the border fence. The activists arrived in the area in trucks that also transported five horses loaded with explosives. Palestinian witnesses said that some of the gunmen had been riding horses. A military source said that the incident appeared to be an attempt to seize Israeli soldiers, like during a June 2006 attack in which activists seized serviceman Gilad Shalit in a deadly cross-border raid. Shalit remains in captivity and Israel and Hamas have negotiated for months via indirect talks through Egypt on a prisoner exchange that would see hundreds of Palestinians released in return for the soldier. There was no immediate claim for Monday’s attack from any armed Palestinian group in Gaza. Israel has faced growing international calls, including by main ally Washington, to lift the blockade on the impoverished territory where the vast majority of the 1.5 million population depends on foreign aid. Monday’s incident was one of the deadliest since the end of the war that Israel unleashed on the territory in response to rocket fire on December 27 and that ended with mutual ceasefires by Hamas and Israel on January 18. The ceasefires have largely held despite violations by both sides. Since March, Hamas has made a move to halt other groups from firing rockets into Israel, detaining some activists after they violated the ceasefire.Meanwhile, a delegation from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks on reconciliation efforts with the rival Fatah faction, a security official said. The delegation, which includes former foreign minister Mahmud Zahar, crossed into Egypt from Gaza ahead of the scheduled arrival in Cairo later on Monday of exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, the official said.The delegation is due to hold talks on Tuesday with Egyptian intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, the main go-between in the Palestinian reconciliation efforts, the official MENA news agency reported.
source: thenews.com