Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli woman settler in the West Bank this evening as Israeli plans to bolster security in Hebron stirred land-grab fears among Palestinians in the divided city.
Ms Esther Galia (48) a mother-of-seven from the settlement of Kochav Hashachar, was ambushed as she drove near Ramallah, seat of Palestinian power in the West Bank, the Israeli army said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Palestinian militants have targeted Jewish settlers during a two-year uprising for independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The shooting followed a Palestinian ambush in Hebron on Friday that killed nine soldiers and three settlers on a trail Jewish worshippers use to reach a holy site in the centre of the West Bank city.
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon responded by proposing to build corridors for settlers that would snake through Hebron, although this could entail razing Palestinian homes and heighten tensions as the US tries to keep the region calm before a possible attack on Iraq. Britain condemned the idea.
"This is a crime," said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. He said Israel was out to "Judaise" Hebron, a biblical city divided into Palestinian-and Israeli-controlled sectors under a 1997 interim peace deal.
Israeli military sources said troops arrested 22 suspected militants in the West Bank on today, including two in Hebron where 450 ultra-nationalist, well-armed settlers live in guarded enclaves among 130,000 Palestinians.
With a showdown looming against hawkish Foreign Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu for leadership of the right-wing Likud party, Mr Sharon was bolstered today by the endorsement of new Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former chief of military staff.
"The defence minister recognises Sharon's strength. This is only the first such show of support," said an aide to Mofaz. In another sign that Mr Sharon would put security at the top of his campaign agenda against Mr Netanyahu, Israeli forces attacked a Palestinian security agency's headquarters in Gaza, saying it contained munitions. Palestinian officials denied the charge.
Earlier today Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a Palestinian security base and tanks entered the edge of Gaza City.
In Gaza, two missiles hit the Palestinian preventive security force headquarters in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood on the outskirts of the main city in the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip last night.