Tanks backed by helicopter gunships battled Palestinian gunmen during an Israeli raid in the central Gaza Strip today and troops rounded up dozens of Palestinians in the West Bank in a sweep for militants.
The army operations were the latest in Israel's drive against militant groups following a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem last week that killed 11 Israelis in a resurgence of violence in a two-year-old Palestinian uprising for statehood.
Looking towards Israel's January 28th general election, Palestinian officials said they planned to step up contacts with Israeli doves in a bid to persuade Israelis that Palestinians are committed to peace.
For his part, right-wing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is juggling conflicting pressures to look tough before the snap election while avoiding an escalation in the conflict that could harm US efforts to win Arab support for possible war on Iraq.
Polls show Sharon with a commanding lead over hawkish Foreign Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu in a leadership vote by their Likud party on Thursday. Mr Sharon is also favoured to beat dovish Labour Party rival Mr Amram Mitzna in the national ballot.
Heavy shooting broke out in the Gaza Strip as several dozen tanks and armoured vehicles rolled into the town and refugee camp of Deir al-Balah before dawn and blew up the four-storey home of an Islamic militant.
The army confirmed the Gaza house demolition, saying Israel blamed the militant for shooting attacks against soldiers and Jewish settlers. The troops later withdrew.
In the West Bank, the army said it arrested 25 suspected militants, most of them in raids on the Deheisheh refugee camp in the city of Bethlehem and in a village near the city of Nablus.