Jerusalem, Feb 19: Israel lifted a quarantine that idled thousands of Palestinian workers, as Palestinian officials in London asked for massive aid for their desperate economic plight, brought on by 29 months of violence. Late yesterday, at least 40 Israeli tanks moved into Gaza City for the second time in two days, heading for the Shajaiyeh neighbourhood from three directions, witnesses said. Attack helicopters accompanying the tanks fired machine guns, but no casualties were reported. The Israeli military, however, refused to make any immediate comment. Continuing a crackdown on the violent Islamic Hamas, Israeli forces killed a Hamas fugitive, the eighth member of the group to die in three days, six in a mysterious explosion on Sunday.
Bureau Report