www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html
ET KISSUFIM CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Gunmen killed a pregnant Jewish settler and four of her children in Gaza, and Israel responded with a missile attack on a Hamas radio station Sunday as Israel's ruling Likud Party held a referendum on whether to pull out of the troubled area. The woman was apparently on her way into Israel to help campaign against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal plan, which calls for dismantling the Jewish settlements of Gaza as well as several in the West Bank. The building, filled with apartments and businesses, in the upscale Rimal neighborhood is also home to the two main Palestinian newspapers, Al Ayyam and Al Quds. A loss for Sharon would likely produce a major political crisis, including a possible Cabinet reshuffle, a split in Likud or even early elections. Sharon aides said he would likely push through with the plan regardless. In claiming responsibility for the shooting attack, Palestinian militants linked the attack to Israel's recent killings of their leaders. The terrible murder today is their way of rejecting and complicating the plan,'' Sharon told reporters. Although Sharon proposes an unprecedented removal of Jewish settlements from land claimed by the Palestinians, the unilateral plan has been greeted with suspicion by Palestinian officials who chafe at being sidelined and see it as a means of cementing Israel's hold on the larger and more historically significant West Bank. Israeli police said the white Citroen station wagon spun off the road after being hit by gunfire. The attackers then approached the vehicle and shot its occupants at close range. Those killed were Tali Khotel, 34 -- who was eight months pregnant -- and her four daughters, ages two to 11, settlers said. Soldiers raced to the scene and killed the attackers in a gunbattle. The station wagon was riddled with bullets, its windows were blown away, and the carpet was splattered with blood. More than 220,000 settlers also live in about 150 settlements in the West Bank alongside almost 3 million Palestinians. The Palestinians consider all Jewish settlements in the two territories Israel occupied in the 1967 war to be illegal. Israel Radio said a car belonging to CNN had prevented further bloodshed by blocking the road after the shooting began. The militant Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group, claimed responsibility in a call to The Associated Press. Sunday's attacks cut straight to the heart of the debate over the referendum. Cabinet minister Gideon Ezra said the settler shooting underscored the hopeless burden of staying in Gaza. Our soldiers can't be in every car that moves in the Gaza Strip,'' he said. Thousands of soldiers are required to protect'' the settlers, he said. Supporters also say a pullout is needed to maintain Israel's Jewish majority -- since Arabs will soon outnumber Jews in the combined area of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Opponents have accused Sharon of caving in to Palestinian militants, arguing that a pullout without any Palestinian commitments to peace would encourage more terror attacks. The settler attack also could raise the possibility of Israeli action against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- whom officials were quick to blame for the carnage. A whole family is wiped out because Arafat does not care about the Palestinian people or the Israeli people,'' said Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin. Israel maintains that Arafat -- despite his denials -- encourages terrorism and is sabotaging any progress toward peace. There has been a spike in Gaza violence since Sharon announced his intentions to pull out several months ago, with each side trying to claim victory ahead of a withdrawal. Israel had gone on high security alert Sunday ahead of the referendum, dividing Gaza into three sections and restricting Palestinian travel.
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