Hamas claims Gaza victory as Israel pulls back
Middle East Desk Report

GAZA—Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a U.S. appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians and rescue peace talks. The Hamas Islamists who control the coastal enclave declared “victory” and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the main southern city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew, and wounding one person.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that despite the end of the five-day operation, Israel would pursue further military action in Gaza until rocket fire was reduced significantly. “We are not willing to show tolerance, period. We will respond,” Olmert said in broadcast remarks. A senior Israeli official said, however, there would be a “two-day interval” for a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Israel had been under pressure from its allies in Washington to halt the violence after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended U.S.-backed peace talks in protest at the bloodshed. Speaking after the pullout, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the talks, which Washington hopes can result in a statehood deal this year, would remain frozen for now. “We are working hard to reach a full calm, a full cessation of hostilities. We want to make sure that what happened will not recur,” Erekat said. Addressing his centrist Kadima party, Olmert said he hoped to continue talks with Abbas, but “under no circumstances will we restrain ourselves in the face of terror from Gaza.”
In Gaza City, several thousand Hamas supporters took to the streets in celebration of the withdrawal. Some snapped festive photographs with gunmen as the chant “The invaders fled and the army of Jews was defeated” rang out from loudspeakers. Israel’s security cabinet plans to meet on Wednesday to consider the government’s next move in the Gaza Strip.
Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said after meeting Israeli leaders: “For us, the Europeans, a very important thing to happen from now on is to maintain the possibility of a peace process. “I know that this sounds a little bit too hopeful in the moments in which we are living.”
Rice is to hold talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday and Wednesday on moving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations forward. The talks have shown little progress so far, with both sides divided over the scope of an agreement. Abbas seeks a full peace accord that would enable him to declare a state, while Olmert says the goal is an understanding of “basic principles.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 116 Palestinians had been killed in the Gaza offensive. Militant groups said about half of them were civilians. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad put the death toll at 110, with 350 people wounded, and said the situation was “unprecedented since the 1967 war of Israeli occupation.”
Many of the civilian casualties came when Israeli missiles fired by helicopters, jets and unmanned drones hit buildings and homes that the army said were being used by militants. Egypt unsealed a sensitive border crossing with Gaza for a second day on Monday to allow wounded civilians into Egypt for medical care, Egyptian security sources said. About 50 have crossed so far, and more are expected.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the offensive. On Wednesday an Israeli civilian was killed by a rocket, the first such death since May. Overnight, Israel carried out several air strikes in the Gaza Strip, killing three militants, medical workers and Hamas said. The army said it had targeted workshops making rockets.