BEIJING, Feb. 1 -- The Islamic militant group, Hamas, claims responsibility for five mortar bombs at a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. This follows Israeli gunfire that killed a Palestinian girl at an UN-run school in Rafah.

    Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei has condemned the latest violence, which adds pressure to efforts for a truce between the two sides.

    Five homemade mortar shells were fired at the Jewish settlement of Naveh Dekalim, west of the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A ten-year-old Palestinian girl was killed by Israeli gunfire in a schoolyard. Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency have condemned the brutal killing.

    "Unfortunately this is a crime. It's a crime. It's very bad. It's a bad message and we appeal to all the world to keep this process at least the good intentions that have been shown from our side and the procedures which have been taken, we hope it will be respected - it will be respected, " said Ahmed Qurei.

    The Israeli military had no immediate information on the incident near the border with Egypt. But the violence clouded a new spirit of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. The death came amid relative calm during the past two weeks in the flashpoint area and elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, which Israel plans to leave this summer.

    Also on Monday, the Palestinian Prime Minister Qurei held a cabinet meeting in Gaza and confirmed that there will be a new Palestinian government line up. But the signs of a possible revival of peace making have been spoiled by the incident.

(Source: CCTV.com)