Israeli forces have killed at least seventeen Palestinians in a series of ground and air raids on Gaza. Another forty-five Palestinians were injured. Killed in one of the raids was Husam Zahar, the twenty-four-year-old son of Mahmoud Zahar, one of the founders of Hamas. In 2004, Zahar’s eldest son was killed in a failed Israeli attempt to assassinate him. Meanwhile, a Palestinian sniper killed an Ecuadorian worker on an Israeli farm near the Gaza Strip. The Israeli attack on Gaza came just hours after Israel and the Palestinians opened what has been described as their most ambitious peace negotiations in seven years. Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the two sides need to make 2008 the year of peace.

Saeb Erekat: “I believe now it’s time for decisions by leaders, more than negotiations. I believe the parameters are defined. I believe it’s doable, and I believe, if you look at the road map, it’s specifying the objectives of the peace process to end the Israeli occupation that began at 1967. We know it’s going to be a two-state solution, and I hope that leaders on both sides will deliver the decisions required to make the year 2008 a year of peace.”

But Hamas officials have rejected the talks with Israel.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas: “We consider that such meetings provide coverage for the occupation in order for them to continue with their crimes against the Palestinian people.”