(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-03 21:17

GAZA -- Violence between Israel and the Palestinians had recently mounted amid preparations for the visit of US President George W. Bush to Israel and the region next week, where he is scheduled to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to push forward the peace talks between them.

However, on the eve of Bush's visit to the region, the Israeli army killed on Wednesday and Thursday 12 Palestinians in the Hamas- ruled Gaza Strip and stormed the city of Nablus in the West Bank, that is under the full control of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel said the military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip aims at reining against militant groups that continue carrying out attacks against Israel, mainly launching homemade rockets from Gaza at Israel.

But Palestinian analysts believed that "the aims of the Israeli army escalation against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is not only to crackdown on militants, but to show that Israel is fighting what it terms as terrorism."

"Israel wants to prepare the atmosphere for Bush visit by escalating violence in the West Bank and Gaza in order to convince him that the Palestinians keep attacks on Israel in spite of having ongoing peace talks," said Hamdan Abu Ashour, an academic from Gaza.

The Ramallah-based al-Ayyam Daily quoted well-informed Palestinian sources as saying that President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Abbas will hold a summit meeting in Jerusalem on January 10.

While, Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmed Qurei told the daily on Thursday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had finished forming the committees that will negotiate final status issues, like Jerusalem, settlements, borders, refugees and water.

But, on Wednesday, the Israeli army killed seven Palestinian gunmen, four belong to Hamas armed wing, two belong to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and one belongs to Fatah movement's armed wing al-Aqsa Brigades.

On Thursday, several Israeli armored vehicles and tanks backed by jet fighters, rolled into the outskirts of Bani Suhayla village east of the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli tanks fired at least nine artillery shells at the village, as militants belong to several militant groups launched homemade anti-tank missiles and mortar shells at them.

Witnesses in the village said that a tank shell hit the house of an Islamic Jihad militant, killing him, his mother, his brother and his sister.

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