Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new centrist party on Monday declared Palestinian statehood as a central goal, and Israel indicated it would drop a threat to ban Jerusalem's Palestinians from voting in their parliamentary election, signaling a moderate line for present and future political moves.
But the signs of accommodation were dampened by an announcement of new Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military yesterday fired a barrage of artillery and missiles at the Gaza Strip, hitting two offices of the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and a bridge the army said was used by militants to reach areas where they fire rockets.
PHOTO: EPA
Hours later, about two dozen armed al-Aqsa militants took over the governor's office and two other government buildings in northern Gaza -- the latest outbreak of lawlessness that has undermined the rule of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel's pre-dawn aerial strikes were part of the army's attempt to halt rocket fire on Israeli towns bordering Gaza. Sharon has approved a buffer zone in northern Gaza, although the army said it has not yet implemented the plan. Enforcement -- including firing at anyone who enters the area -- is not likely to begin in the coming 12 hours, the army said.
The army has been destroying roads and other installations used by militants to get to areas that put Israeli towns within range of their highly inaccurate, homemade rockets. The bridge destroyed yesterday has been targeted before.
Since Israel's withdrawal this summer from the Gaza Strip, more Israeli towns -- including the city of Ashkelon -- have come into rocket range. Earlier this month, a rocket landed near Ashkelon's power plant and a fuel depot, alarming Israelis.
The offices of al-Aqsa -- a group with links to the ruling Fatah party -- were targeted because militants used them to meet, plan and recruit, the army said. But Palestinians said the offices were used for social and educational purposes.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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