Page 22 - 031318

Groton Daily Independent
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 242 ~ 22 of 46
IS attacked areas that were evacuated by the rebels and handed over to Syrian troops, the Observatory said.
IS issued a statement saying its ghters attacked Syrian army positions — ones that the army had taken from the rebels — in Qadam, in icting casualties among the troops.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.
Explosion strikes Palestinian PM’s convoy in Gaza By FARES AKRAM, Associated Press
JABALIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — An explosion struck the convoy of the Palestinian prime minister on Tuesday as he was making a rare visit to Gaza, in what his Fatah party called an assassination attempt it blamed on Gaza militants.
The blast further complicated what already is a troubled reconciliation process between Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group and the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. It also cast a cloud over a meeting later Tuesday at the White House, where international representatives were to discuss economic development and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The explosion went off shortly after the convoy entered Gaza through the Erez crossing with Israel. Pal- estinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was unharmed and went on to inaugurate a long-awaited sewage plant project in the northern part of the strip.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Some of cials in the Fatah movement quickly blamed rival Hamas for a “cowardly attack,” while others said it was too early to say.
Witnesses said the bomb was planted under an electric pole on Gaza’s main north-south road and went off shortly after Hamdallah’s 20-vehicle convoy had entered through the Israeli-controlled crossing.
“I could not see anything because smoke and dust lled the air. When the smoke cleared, the explosion was followed by heavy gun re, apparently from police securing the convoy. When the dust cleared, I saw people running everywhere, and police were running around,” said a witness who declined to be identi ed because of security concerns.
Two vehicles were badly damaged and could not continue while at least four others were damaged, with windows or sunroofs blown out. One had signs of blood on the door. At least two bodyguards were lightly wounded.
Hamdallah, who is based in the West Bank, arrived in Hamas-run Gaza to inaugurate the internationally funded sewage plant. He delivered a speech, and immediately left without sticking around for the ribbon- cutting ceremony.
“This will not deter from seeking to end the bitter split. We will still come to Gaza,” he said.
Hamas condemned the explosion, calling it a crime and an attempt to “hurt efforts to achieve unity and reconciliation.” It promised an “urgent” investigation.
In the West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Hamas for the blast. But his security chief Majed Farraj, who was in the convoy, said it was “too early” to say who was responsible.
Hanan Ashrawi, another senior Palestinian of cial in the West Bank, condemned the “cowardly act” and said the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
“We believe that this act targeted also all attempts at creating Palestinian unity, putting an end to the rift or the division in Palestine,” she said.
The rival factions have been trying to reconcile since 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah forces. The takeover left the Palestinians with two rival governments, Hamas in Gaza and the Western- backed Palestinian Authority governing autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In November, Hamas handed over control of Gaza’s border crossings to the Palestinian Authority. It was the rst tangible concession in years of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation talks. But negotiations have bogged down since then.