Professor David Newman wrote for the Post for six years before being forced out. He talks about his recent departure and the latest attacks in Gaza on Palestinians.

Israeli forces killed a 65-year-old Palestinian and wounded 20 others in a failed attempt to assassinate three members of Hamas in Gaza. Four children were among the injured including an eight year old who remains in critical condition. The BBC reported it was the third strike on Hamas in the last five days.

Israel has threatened to quote “liquidate” all members of Hamas following last week’s bus bombing that killed 21 in Jerusalem.

Tuesday’s combined strikes by air and sea were targeting Hamas commander, Khaled Massoud, who Israel alleges to have organized mortar strikes against Israeli towns.

Today Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called on militant groups to reinstate a ceasefire they formally ended last week after the assassination of a Hamas leader.

This comes at a time of increasing tension between Arafat and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas who held emergency cabinet talks in the Gaza Strip.

The Associated Press reports Arafat asked the legislature to convene Monday for a vote of confidence on Abbas. And there is some speculation Abbas might lose the vote.

In other news yesterday, Israeli undercover troops stormed a Nablus hospital before dawn yesterday and snatched two wounded Palestinian militant members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from their beds in the intensive care unit.

We are joined now by David Newman, professor of political geography at Ben Gurion University. He is also a former columnist at the Jerusalem Post where he says he pressured to leave after six years for his political views.

• David Newman, professor of political geography at Ben Gurion University. He is a former columnist for the Jerusalem Post.