2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 8, 2004 NATION/WORLD Israeli troops kill 14 in Gaza raid NEWS IN BRIEF BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli troops carried out their deadliest raid in Gaza in 17 months yesterday, part of a surge of bloodshed ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from the coastal strip. Fourteen Palestinians were killed and 81 wounded in more than six hours of fighting on the edge of the Bureij refugee camp. The battle pitted Palestinians armed with assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers against Israeli troops firing from heli- copters, tanks and rooftop sniper positions. Chil- dren chased tanks, throwing stones. Among the dead were three boys, ages 8, 12 and 15. The Israeli military said the purpose of the raid was to put Palestinian militants on the defensive and prevent them from carrying out attacks on Israelis. But residents of Bureij said soldiers did not try to make arrests or search for arms caches. The Palestinian Authority denounced the raid as "state terrorism" and urged the international community to intervene. Palestinians said Israeli soldiers were trying to draw out militants in what appeared to be a new tactic. Armed groups routinely exhort their members over mosque loudspeakers to confront approaching Israeli troops, despite vastly inferior weapons and considerable risk. Yesterday was no exception. After the battle, a militant leader took the high- ly unusual step of appealing to his forces not to fall into the trap again. "The Palestinian people are now uniting in the trenches of resistance," said Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi, "but we also call on the sons of the resistance not to be dragged into bat- tles forced upon us by the (Israeli) occupation." Yesterday's fighting was part of a recent rise in violence that has been attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to withdraw from most, if not all, of Gaza and parts of the West Bank if there is no progress toward peace in coming months. Each side seems to be positioning itself to claim a withdrawal as a victory - Israel by pounding the militants hard before a pullout, and the armed groups by stepping up attacks to create the impression they are chasing the Israelis out. In the past week, Israeli helicopter gunships have struck twice, killing six militants and a boy in missile attacks in Gaza City. On Saturday, three militant Palestinian groups sent bomb-laden jeeps in a suicide mission aimed at blowing up an Israeli checkpoint on the edge of Gaza. Six Palestinians were killed in the blasts and exchanges of fire. The raid was the deadliest in Gaza since Octo- ber 2002, when 19 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation in the Khan Younis refugee camp. The dead - 10 militants and four civilians - were given a joint funeral. Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched in the streets, and masked Hamas militants pledged revenge. Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis during 41 months of conflict. One Hamas gunman told mourners the mili- tants are sending a message to Sharon that "we are ready for confrontation." Avi Pazner, an Israeli government spokesman, said such raids help save Israeli lives. "Terrorism is pouring out of this refugee camp, and we have to stop it," Pazner said of Bureij. There are concerns that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza could push the crowded, impoverished territory into chaos. Already, rival groups are vying for power, as the Palestinian Authority has lost much of its influence, and attacks on Pales- tinian officials are on the increase. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Gunfire kills 4 Haitians, journalist at protest Gunmen opened fire yesterday on thousands of unarmed demonstrators calling for the prosecution of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, killing four protesters and a foreign journalist in the worst attack since the Haitian president's fall. U.S. Marines returned fire - the first known armed action by U.S. forces sent to stabilize the country - but angry survivors accused the Marines and their French colleagues of not doing enough to prevent the attack. Blood slicked the floors of a hospital where victims were rushed. Women screamed and men cried as the few doctors tried to treat the injured with little medication. A French Air Force helicopter made a dramatic landing on the road in front of the private Canape Vert Hospital, and two men descended to wheel a gurney of emergency medical supplies to the gate. Most of the victims were in serious con- dition with wounds from assault rifles, said surgeon Ronald Georges. Several witnesses said they saw Aristide militants open fire from across the vast Champs de Mars plaza as thousands gathered in front of the presidential National Palace. U.S. Marine Maj. Richard Crusan said it was unclear who the gunmen were. BAGHDAD, Iraq Shite leaders OK Iraqi interim constitution Iraq's most powerful cleric signaled to Shiite leaders that he won't object to an interim constitution, clearing the way for the charter to be signed today without changes. The agreement, key to U.S. plans to hand power to Iraqis, comes after talks between Iraqi Governing Council members and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al- Sistani, who had reservations about giving Iraq's Kurdish minority too much power. Shiite politicians, who days earlier had refused to sign the constitution because of al-Sistani's opposition to certain clauses, said after talks with the cleric yester- day that they would sign the document unchanged. Hours later, at least seven rockets exploded in central Baghdad, five of them hit- ting the al-Rasheed Hotel which houses members of the U.S.-led coalition. At SAP PHOTO least one person was injured, the U.S. military said. The hotel also is near the Baghdad Convention Center, where Iraqi politicians had planned to sign the interim constitution on Friday. It was unclear whether the attack was an attempt to disrupt another signing ceremony. Israeli troops battled hundreds of Palestinian gunmen yesterday, killing 10 militants and four civilians in the deadliest Gaza raid in 17 months. I I I Prsiucuhms a& illel @HliiAuditsrium SWfatr Api ril d2004 Tickets on sale now @ MUTS SpeilStudent Prices!. 134763-TKTS BALTIMORE Three stil missing in water taxi accident The Navy reservists whose quick work helped save 21 people aboard a water taxi that capsized described the horrific scene in which they made their rescue: survivors clinging to the over- turned vessel in frigid, choppy water pounded by rain, telling them more were trapped below. A 60-year-old woman was killed in Saturday's accident in Baltimore Harbor and three people, including a 6-year-old boy, were missing, but the reservists said yesterday theyiwere relieved the lossaof life wasn't even greater. The sailors rushed to the scene after seeing the boat in trouble. After passen- gers clinging to the water taxi told them others were trapped underneath, the rescuers used a ramp on their troop landing ship to lift the water taxi partly out of the water, Petty Officer Jeffrey King said. CONCORD, N.H. First gay Episcopal bishop takes office With three mighty thumps on the church door yesterday, V Gene Robin- son knocked and was welcomed into St. Paul's sanctuary, where he officially became the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. Yesterday's investiture ceremony does not carry the same weight as Robinson's consecration, which rocked the Episco- pal Church in November. But it gave a capacity crowd of more than 700 the chance to welcome the new leader of the Diocese of New Hampshire with whoops, cheers and a standing ovation. Bells rang out from the church tower. "Journeys of faith, you know, are a risky business," Robinson said during his sermon. "God is always calling us out of our comfort zones." NEW YORK Stewart's attention to detail swayed jurors Jurors who convicted Martha Stewart of lying about a stock sale said they believed the key prosecution witnesses against the homemaking guru and were surprised that her team didn't mount a more aggressive defense. They also said Stewart's reputation as a stickler for detail belied her claim that she didn't remember receiving a message from her broker warning her the price of a stock she held was about to fall. "That wasn't really believable. 'Cause this is a woman who pays attention to details," juror Rosemary McMahon told Dateline NBC in an interview with six jurors scheduled to air yesterday. - Compiled from Daily wire reports I r S Ai S f ' .SA I I l id WWWMICHIGANDAILY.COM The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. 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