Peretz defends wave of attacks on Palestinians

[Scurrilous]

· Israeli defence minister lauds 'war on terror'
· Rights group condemns arbitrary arrests by army

<snip>

"Israel's new defence minister, Amir Peretz, has defended a wave of killings and arrests of Palestinians accused of attacks on Israel, including the latest suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, as "a very important achievement in the war on terror". Islamic Jihad, the target of many of the raids, described the Labour party leader as "even worse than Shaul Mofaz", his predecessor at the defence ministry, who made "targeted assassinations" a core part of the army's strategy.

Since April the army has killed about 45 Palestinians, including five children, in scores of raids on the West Bank and by firing thousands of shells into the Gaza Strip. The victims included women and elderly farmers. Scores have been wounded and hundreds of people have been arrested. Yesterday three Islamic Jihad militants were wounded when their car was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has accused the army of arbitrary arrest and "a series of retaliatory measures against Palestinian civilians" in response to a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last month that killed 11 people.

Mr Peretz authorised Sunday's raid near Jenin that resulted in the death of an Islamic Jihad leader, Elias Ashkar, who was accused of orchestrating the Tel Aviv bombing. Israeli forces killed four other people whom the military described as "wanted", although Palestinians said at least one was a civilian. "This operation matches our policy to continue waging war on terrorists while trying to ease restrictions on the Palestinian people where we can," said Mr Peretz."

more