Israeli soldiers shot one Palestinian dead and seriously wounded another Tuesday in Bazariya north of Nablus, while Israeli units backed by tanks moved into the Palestinian autonomous sector in the north and south of the Gaza Strip in two separate operations early Tuesday.
Motaz Daghlas, 26, was killed as he and Mohammad Hojja, 35, were allegedly trying to "plant an explosive device," the sources told AFP.
The Israeli army was holding Hojja and Daghlas's body.
The death brings to 814 the number of people killed in the nearly year-long Palestinian Intifada or uprising, including 624 Palestinians and 167 Israelis, according to AFP's estimates.
In Gaza, Israeli units backed by tanks moved into the Palestinian autonomous sector in the north and south of the Gaza Strip in two separate operations early Tuesday, Palestinian sources said.
One unit with tanks and bulldozers moved about 700 meters (yards) into Palestinian territory south of Gaza City and destroyed a port building used by European companies, Mahmud Abu Khaled, a member of a Gaza port development company, told AFP.
The operation was in response to mortar fire, an Israeli military spokesman said, cited by Haaretz newspaper.
A similar operation in which a house was destroyed took place in the Tell El Sultan district of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip near the Israeli-Egyptian border, Palestinian security sources said.
There was no immediate Israeli confirmation of the second operation, although a military spokesman said an Israeli position had come under grenade attack in the Rafah sector a day earlier.
No casualties were reported in either incident, Haaretz and AFP said.
On Monday evening, Haaretz newspaper claimed that Palestinians opened fire at the homes of settlers in the city of Hebron in the West Bank.
They also fired on Israeli troops, said the paper, reporting no injuries.
The soldiers responded with gunfire and tank shells at the source of the shooting in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Al Sheikh and Abu Sneina, the paper said, citing a military spokesman.
Earlier Monday, three Palestinians died in the Occupied Territories and more than 31 others were injured.
The unrest came amid remarks by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat who said that he had issued "strict orders" to observe a ceasefire with Israel.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said there was no evidence on the ground that Arafat's men were respecting a moribund June ceasefire, one of his conditions before Israel will consider re-opening talks with the Palestinian leader.
The flare-up underscored the difficulties of implementing a truce amid soaring tensions as both sides accused the other of "terrorism," hoping to ride the wave of anti-terrorist rage following attacks last week on the United States, AFP said.
Sharon has compared Arafat to Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the main suspect for the anti-American attacks, and demanded he enforce 48 hours of absolute calm before talks to thrash out a longer-term peace can begin - Albawaba.com
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