In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Palestinian death toll from Israel’s latest attack on the Gaza Strip has hit nineteen. It was the highest single-day Palestinian toll in more than a year. Another fifty Palestinians were reportedly injured. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the assault as a “massacre.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: “Today there was a massacre and butchery against our people, and we say to the world, to Israel and to all the people, crimes such as these, one can not remain silent over, and in no way whatsoever can it bring peace.”

The fighting came just days after President Bush visited both Israel and the West Bank to promote U.S.-brokered negotiations. At least 115 Palestinians have now been killed in Israeli attacks since the Bush administration launched the latest phase of talks in Annapolis two months ago. Dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the Palestinian Authority was partly responsible for the ongoing attacks.

Ismail Haniyeh: “These attacks are the gifts from Bush, the gifts to who clapped for Bush, and the gifts for the people who sold their nation just for Bush. But we tell them, Bush is leaving, and you are leaving, but this case, this nation, this power, and this dignity will stay forever.”

Meanwhile, several Israelis have been wounded in Palestinian rocket fire on nearby Israeli towns. Hamas said it took part in the rocket-firing for the first time since seizing power in Gaza last year. An Ecuadorian national working on an Israeli farm was also killed by Palestinian sniper fire. Israeli President Shimon Peres said Israel was acting to prevent Palestinian attacks.

Israeli President Shimon Peres: “We left Gaza completely. We took out our army, we took out our settlements. There is no single Israeli in the Gaza Strip. It’s totally in the hands of the Palestinians, and we don’t understand exactly why they are the shooting, what do they want to achieve. But as long as they are shooting, we are left without a choice but to answer and stop it.”

Israel has continued attacks on Gaza after rejecting a truce offer from Hamas last month. Israel has also cut fuel, water and electricity supplies, barred almost all Palestinians from leaving, including those needing medical care, and cut off staples, including food and bottled water.