Hamas Calls on UN to Rescind 1947 Partition Vote

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has called on the United Nations to rescind its 1947 vote that partitioned then British-ruled Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

Hamas said in a statement Thursday, which is the 60th anniversary of the U.N. vote, that correcting mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of.

The Jewish people accepted the U.N. plan, which led to the creation of the state of Israel. Arab states and Palestinian groups rejected it, and local Palestinians have since been without a sovereign homeland.

Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, calls for Israel's destruction in its charter. Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group.

In other news, Palestinian security officials say Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least four Hamas militants.

Officials say Israel carried out two air strikes overnight near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

The Israeli military said the first attack was on a group of armed men in combat vests moving near the border, and the second was against two men trying to plant a bomb near the border fence.

On Wednesday, at least two Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike on a Hamas base, after militants fired 20 rockets and mortars into Israel. That attack also took place near Khan Younis.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.