Two Palestinians were killed Tuesday by Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli troops have occupied some areas in the Gaza Strip under Palestinian control.
In the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Israeli troops shot dead 19-year-old Bassem Zahran, said AFP.
His body was handed over to Palestinian liaison officers by Israeli soldiers early Tuesday.
The victim had been hit by several bullets in the face and chest.
The soldiers explained that he had been killed as he tried to knife one of them at a checkpoint near Tulkarem, Palestinian officials and doctors said.
In the north of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian policeman was killed early Tuesday by a shell fired from an Israeli tank near Beit Hanoun.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister for NGOs, Hassan Asfour, said Tuesday that Israeli troops have occupied areas in the Gaza Strip under Palestinian control, reported Al-Jazeera satellite channel.
He told the channel that Israeli troops have occupied Beit Hanoun which was raided Monday by Israeli forces who destroyed Palestinian border police positions with bulldozers.
In a parallel attack, Israeli helicopter gunships struck the Palestinian locality of Dir el-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses said.
air strike destroyed positions which served as a training center for Force 17, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's elite guard unit, and also a nearby mosque, the same sources said.
Three Palestinian civilians were also wounded, Palestinian medical sources added.
Israeli tanks also shot at buildings in the Palestinian area of Rafah on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, witnesses said.
Israeli military sources confirmed a fresh offensive on the Gaza Strip Monday evening, but did not comment further.
The armored assault on Beit Hanun was the second Israeli ground incursion in five days on an area under full Palestinian security and administrative control, also known as Zone A according to peace agreements signed with Israel since 1993.
It was also the second such offensive since the start of the Palestinian uprising in late September.
The Israeli raids came after five mortar bombs were fired Monday night on the Israeli town of Sderot, to the east of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's spokesperson Ranaan Gissin had threatened the Palestinian Authority (PA) following the mortar shelling.
"We will not tolerate this type of action and the proper response will come," he added. "There is a price to be paid for whatever action they take."
He accused the PA of orchestrating the mortar shillings.
But the PA denied any involvement in the pounding of Sderot, said the agency.
"These shells were fired by groups who escape the control of the Authority," said Samir Rantissi, a PA spokesman.
The Palestinians said Israel had injured three Palestinian security agents with tank fire in Beit Hanun in an initial response to the mortar attack.
Two Palestinians were also injured in an Israeli attack on West bank city of Hebron earlier, said MBC satellite channel late Monday.
ISRAELI SOLDIER STABBED IN WEST BANK
An Israeli soldier was stabbed Monday night at a roadblock near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, a military spokesman said, according to AFP.
The assailant was shot down by other Israeli soldiers posted at the roadblock, military radio said.
The victim of the stabbing was lightly injured and taken to an Israeli hospital in the region, the spokesman added.
SECURITY MEETING CANCELLED
A meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security officials to discuss security coordination, scheduled to take place Monday evening, has been canceled, Israel Radio reported, cited by Haaretz newspaper.
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said the meeting was called off because the Palestinians did not want to attend, and that it was unclear at the time if the meeting would be rescheduled.
Senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials were, however, headed to Cairo for meetings, Israel Radio reported. According to the report, Avi Dichter, the head of the Shin Bet security service, is the Israeli representative, and West Bank security chief Jabril Rjoub is his Palestinian counterpart.
Israeli officials refused to comment on the report. Palestinian officials would say only that Rajoub is not in the country at present - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
