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Israel Shells Gaza Following School Bus Strike

   VOA News  April 07, 2011
   Palestinian Abdullah Fatouh inspects the damage next to his family's
   pickle factory after an overnight Israeli airstrike east of Gaza City,
   Apr 7 2011

Photo: AP/Israel Leal

   Palestinian Abdullah Fatouh inspects the damage next to his family's
   pickle factory after an overnight Israeli airstrike east of Gaza City,
   Apr 7 2011

   Israeli troops have shelled targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip,
   after suspected Gaza militants fired a projectile that hit a school bus
   in southern Israel, wounding two people.
   Palestinian medics say the Israeli retaliation killed an elderly man
   and wounded at least three other people. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
   Barak had ordered a swift response for the bus strike.
   Western news agencies say that during Thursday's cross-border
   incidents, Israel employed what is believed to be its first use of a
   new short-range missile defense system, known as "Iron Dome."
   Witnesses say an Israeli missile intercepted a Gaza-fired rocket that
   appeared to be aimed at the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
   In March, the Israeli government announced it had decided to deploy the
   "Iron Dome" system in response to an increase in mortar and rocket fire
   from Gaza into southern Israel. The system is said to be capable of
   shooting down rockets fired from a range of five to 70 kilometers.
   Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said it had carried out several
   overnight airstrikes in Gaza, targeting smuggling tunnels near the
   border with Egypt. Palestinian medical sources said at least one person
   was wounded.
   Shelling between Israel and Gaza has raised tensions between at a time
   when Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have stalled. Talks broke off
   following Palestinian objections to continued Jewish settlement
   building. Palestinians oppose construction on land they want as part of
   a future state.
   Meanwhile, the World Bank says the Palestinian Authority is well
   positioned to establish an independent state, but that Israeli
   restrictions are stifling prospects for sustained economic growth. In a
   report published Thursday, the bank praised Palestinians' progress in
   delivering public services and institution-building.
   The World Bank also expressed concern about the staggering 37.4 percent
   unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip.
   Separately, Palestinians say Israeli security forces raided the West
   Bank village of Awarta early Thursday and arrested more than 100 women
   during a house-to-house search for suspects in the killing of a Jewish
   couple and their three children in March.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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References

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