A Palestinian policeman was killed and another seriously injured Thursday when Israeli tanks stormed into Palestinian self-rule land in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli and Palestinian officials told AFP.
Taj al-Masri, 23, was shot dead and his body kept by Israeli forces, the head of al-Shifa hospital's accident ward told AFP, saying the Palestinians had been informed by the Israeli-Palestinian military liaison office.
Another policeman was in serious condition after being hit by heavy machinegun fire from the tanks in the legs and stomach.
Israeli military sources confirmed that the army had killed one Palestinian and arrested another.
The incursion happened near the town of Beit Lahia, on the northern edge of Gaza City.
The Israeli security sources said the raid came after Palestinians fired five mortar bombs at a Jewish settlement in the area, without causing injuries.
The tanks went to the source of the fire, where they spotted two armed Palestinians who opened fire on them, the sources said.
The Tel Aviv-based Haaretz said that one the forces killed one Fateh member and captured another after the two fired mortars at Jewish settlements, citing an Army Radio report.
There were no injuries or damage caused by the two mortars, said the report.
Near Qalqilya in the West Bank, two Palestinians were arrested by Israeli troops, that ordered the people of the village to go out in the cold for a long time under rain at dawn Thursday.
The two arrestees were identified by the Palestinian official news agency (WAFA) as Hamid Abdul Rahim Abu Haniyyeh (27), and Mohammad Abdul Latif Abu Haniyyeh.
More incursions were reported in Jenin, where the occupation troops bulldozed roads in the city’s vicinity, said the Palestinian agency – Albawaba.com
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