Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian man today in the divided West Bank town of Hebron.
Earlier today, 12 Israeli tanks rolled nearly two miles into the Palestinian town of Rafah in southern Gaza, sealing off surrounding roads.
The 45-year-old man was shot in the stomach near The Tomb of the Patriarchs, where Abraham is believed to be buried. It is a site considered sacred by both Jews and Muslims and the scene of frequent clashes. His condition was described as stable by hospital officials.
Israeli military sources said the man was shot while he was trying to wrest away the automatic rifle of an Israeli soldier guarding a Jewish settlement in the town.
In a pre-dawn incursion into Beit Iba village in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers arrested an alleged Hamas activist.
A runway at the Palestinian-controlled international airport in the Gaza Strip was bulldozed as Israeli retaliation for yesterday’s killing of four soldiers continued.
The latest moves follow an announcement by Islamic Jihad that it would no longer adhere to its halt in attacks on Israelis.
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon told supporters yesterday he would not resume contacts with the Palestinians until they arrested those involved in a weapons shipment that Israel seized in the Red Sea, political sources said.
But Mr Sharon - who has accused Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat of ordering the shipment, a charge Mr Arafat has denied - said Israeli-Palestinian security co-operation would not be affected by the decision.
Mr Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior aide to Mr Arafat, dismissed Israel's move as part of a destructive phase of Israeli policy and said relations had already ceased since US Middle East envoy Mr Anthony Zinni left the region on Sunday.
AFP &