Palestinian killed in new Mideast violence

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, reinforcing fears that Middle East violence is spinning…

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, reinforcing fears that Middle East violence is spinning out of control after the deadliest attack in Israel for nearly four years.

The army said the Palestinian was a policeman armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and holding a Koran, who was shot in a gunfight as he tried to infiltrate the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom during the night.

Palestinians identified him as Nasser al-Hasanat, 23.

Four female Israeli soldiers, three male soldiers and a civilian were killed and 17 other people wounded on Wednesday when 35-year-old Palestinian driver Khalil Abu Elba slammed his bus into a crowded bus stop south of Tel Aviv.

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The attack was the biggest since two Jerusalem suicide bombings in 1997 and marked a new peak in violence that has increased since Ariel Sharon, whom Arabs consider a war criminal, was elected Israel's prime minister last week.

Yesterday's attack prompted Israel to tighten a blockade of Palestinian areas and US President George W. Bush to appeal for an end to the tragic cycle of violent action .

Calling for peace talks, Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh said Israel and the Palestinians were locked in a conflict for which there was no military solution.

"It's a war in which there is no military victory, certainly not easy and swift. It's a problem for the public, the people, to withstand a continuing war", he told Army Radio.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat accused Israel of escalating their conflict, endangering peace and risking Middle East stability.

Almost 400 people have been killed since the Palestinians began an uprising in late September against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza after peace talks froze. More than 300 Palestinians, 61 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have died.