Israeli forces yesterday fired missiles into the Gaza Strip killing a member of Hamas and injuring 25 other people. According to the Financial Times, Israel has now assassinated 11 Palestinian militants over the last two weeks in Gaza. At least three Palestinian bystanders have also been killed and scores have been injured. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday promised “to fight to the bitter end” against Hamas and threatened to launch a ground assault in Gaza. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal reports that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas are no longer on speaking terms.

In other related news, a new government report has concluded that Israel used excessive force three years ago when it shot dead 13 Israeli Arab citizens during the opening days of the Palestinian intifada. The report also concluded that the Israeli police attempted to cover up their activities and treated Israeli Arab citizens as their “enemies.”