Post by Salem6 on Dec 23, 2003 14:15:38 GMT
At least seven Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli raid in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinians say.
Witnesses said about 40 tanks and armoured vehicles entered Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Rafah has been the scene of frequent clashes
Israel says the operation was aimed at destroying tunnels used to smuggle explosives from Egypt into Gaza.
Hours earlier two Israeli army officers died in an ambush in the central Gaza Strip, making it one of the bloodiest days in the region for months.
Jerusalem arrests
It also came in the wake of the first visit to Israel for two years by Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who was hoping to revive the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
But his talks were overshadowed when he was assaulted at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem - an incident that highlighted the difficulty of his mission.
Israeli police later detained seven Palestinians in connection with the assault.
Israel has sporadically targeted Rafah to try to disrupt attempts by Palestinians to smuggle weapons across the border through a network of tunnels.
At least 20 Palestinians were wounded, four seriously, in the raid in Rafah, during which several houses were damaged, Palestinian security sources said.
The dead reportedly included a 50-year-old man and a member of the armed wing of the radical Islamic Jihad movement.
An unnamed Israeli military source told Reuters that soldiers had opened fire at Palestinians trying to plant or detonate an explosive device.
Witnesses said gunmen fired at troops as they entered the camp.
Maher (left) was on a mission to revive peace talks
An Israeli army spokesman said 40 tunnels had been found and destroyed since the start of the year.
Mr Maher needed hospital treatment after radical Palestinians pelted him with shoes at al-Aqsa Mosque, but he later returned to Egypt and dismissed the incident as "a piece of foolish behaviour".
He visited the mosque after a series of meetings with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Correspondents say his assailants are likely to have been angered by the talks between the minister of an Arab Muslim nation and Israel, which they regard as an illegitimate state on Arab land.
Mr Maher's visit follows talks in Geneva last week between Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
It was the first high-level meeting between the two countries since Ariel Sharon's government came to power.
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries to have diplomatic relations with Israel, but relations have been strained since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, when both countries withdrew their ambassadors.
Egypt hosted talks earlier this month to try to negotiate a ceasefire offer from Palestinian militants, but the talks ended without a deal.
Witnesses said about 40 tanks and armoured vehicles entered Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Rafah has been the scene of frequent clashes
Israel says the operation was aimed at destroying tunnels used to smuggle explosives from Egypt into Gaza.
Hours earlier two Israeli army officers died in an ambush in the central Gaza Strip, making it one of the bloodiest days in the region for months.
Jerusalem arrests
It also came in the wake of the first visit to Israel for two years by Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who was hoping to revive the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
But his talks were overshadowed when he was assaulted at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem - an incident that highlighted the difficulty of his mission.
Israeli police later detained seven Palestinians in connection with the assault.
Israel has sporadically targeted Rafah to try to disrupt attempts by Palestinians to smuggle weapons across the border through a network of tunnels.
At least 20 Palestinians were wounded, four seriously, in the raid in Rafah, during which several houses were damaged, Palestinian security sources said.
The dead reportedly included a 50-year-old man and a member of the armed wing of the radical Islamic Jihad movement.
An unnamed Israeli military source told Reuters that soldiers had opened fire at Palestinians trying to plant or detonate an explosive device.
Witnesses said gunmen fired at troops as they entered the camp.
Maher (left) was on a mission to revive peace talks
An Israeli army spokesman said 40 tunnels had been found and destroyed since the start of the year.
Mr Maher needed hospital treatment after radical Palestinians pelted him with shoes at al-Aqsa Mosque, but he later returned to Egypt and dismissed the incident as "a piece of foolish behaviour".
He visited the mosque after a series of meetings with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Correspondents say his assailants are likely to have been angered by the talks between the minister of an Arab Muslim nation and Israel, which they regard as an illegitimate state on Arab land.
Mr Maher's visit follows talks in Geneva last week between Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
It was the first high-level meeting between the two countries since Ariel Sharon's government came to power.
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries to have diplomatic relations with Israel, but relations have been strained since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, when both countries withdrew their ambassadors.
Egypt hosted talks earlier this month to try to negotiate a ceasefire offer from Palestinian militants, but the talks ended without a deal.