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Israel Accuses Palestinians of Breaching Ceasefire Agreement
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Thursday evening accusing the Palestinians of violating the ceasefire agreement, stressing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)"has the right to respond as it sees fit."
This was the reaction from the prime minister to the six-hour gun battle between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Nablus, in which a palestinian and a Israeli settler were killed.
In a short statement issued by Barak's office, the prime minister said he regarded the incident as a "very serious incident." Israeli security sources confirmed that Barak was planning a military response.
A high-ranking source told the website of Israel's Ha'aretz daily Thursday evening that what happened near Nablus was a "grave breach of the agreements reached at the Sharm el Sheikh summit."
"The Palestinian Authority has made a decision not to implement the agreements," the source said. "Israel has done what it could.
If the Palestinians had wanted to intervene in the incident, the results would have been apparent."
On Tuesday, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Barak agreed at the emergency Mideast summit to stop the three weeks of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces, which have claimed over 100 lives, mostly Palestinians.
The gun battle erupted Thursday afternoon as a group of Jewish settlers tried to climb onto the Mount Ebal, a rocky hill near Nablus, to have a look of the Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish shrine evacuated by Israeli army in the height of the clashes two weeks ago.
Several Palestinians and five settlers, including a child, were also injured in the clash. The two sides are accusing the other of opening fire first to spark the incident.
An Israeli helicopter later managed to evacuate the injured Israelis from the shootout, but one died of injuries in hospital.
Israeli soldiers also accused the Palestinians of blocking the rescue efforts.
The settlers claimed Thursday that they got army's approval for their going, but IDF Central Commander Yitzhak Eitan said that it is strictly forbidden to tour the West Bank at the current stage.
The army said that it will investigate who gave the approval and the reason behind the decision.
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