Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops Wednesday evening as they approached the settlements of Elei Sinai and Dugit, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The three were spotted by an Israeli patrol in an area forbidden to Palestinians. The soldiers opened fire on the figures, hitting all three, Israel Radio reported.
Several hours earlier, an Israeli settler was lightly wounded when Palestinians hurled stones at her car near the West Bank town of Halhul.
Before dawn Wednesday, Israeli forces demolished the homes of a Fatah suicide bomber and a Hamas activist. They also arrested nine Palestinians. Three members of the Islamic Jihad were arrested in the El Arroub refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, while other Palestinians were seized near Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, the army said in a statement.
The Israeli army demolished the home of Fatah member Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Zida, who blew himself up in an Israeli restaurant in July 2002.
In Khan Yunis, the Israeli army demolished the home of Hamas activist Yassin al-Agha, who was killed three weeks ago in an exchange of gunfire with soldiers. The army said it found pipe bombs and weapons in the ruins of the house.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Khan Yunis for a second day of celebrations to mark the 38th anniversary of the first armed attack by Fatah guerrillas on an Israeli target on January 1, 1965.
On Tuesday, some 70,000 Fatah supporters gathered in one of the largest demonstrations of support for their leader, Yasser Arafat.
"I call for peace and security in the Holy Land this year, based on international resolutions and agreements," Arafat told the crowd during a live televised broadcast from Ramallah.
He also asked "the whole international community to solve in this coming year the crisis both locally and internationally, using negotiations and peaceful methods, especially in Iraq." (Albawaba.com)
