Palestinian mother is killed by Israeli tank fire

MIDDLE EAST: A Palestinian woman was killed and her three children seriously injured by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip yesterday…

MIDDLE EAST: A Palestinian woman was killed and her three children seriously injured by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip yesterday, and two Israeli soldiers were injured when a bomb exploded near their jeep as they patrolled the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Palestinian sources said that the woman, Ms Nahla Aqel (41), was killed and her children injured in the southern Gaza town of Rafah by Israeli tank fire. Another woman was critically injured.

The Israeli army said that troops fired after spotting a group of six armed men moving towards the Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam near Rafah. But Palestinian witnesses said Ms Aqel and her children were hit in a street in Rafah.

"The woman and her family were walking in the middle of the street, and I saw her fall, and blood covering her body," said local resident Mr Samir Abu Shahin.

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Israel has drawn sharp international criticism for the growing number of civilians killed in raids in Gaza in recent months. UN and EU leaders accused Israel of using "excessive force" after 10 Palestinians were killed during a raid last Friday morning in the crowded El Bureij refugee camp. Israel said most of those killed were gunmen firing at troops.

In the attack in northern Israel, the first on the border in four months, a bomb was detonated as the soldiers' jeep passed, hurling the vehicle against the border fence.

One soldier was seriously injured and had to have his legs amputated. The Israeli military commander in the north, Maj Gen Beni Ganz, blamed the Lebanese-based Shi'ite Hezbollah organization. "My assumption is that nothing happens in this area without Hezbollah's involvement. Not even a fly moves around here without them knowing."

Hezbollah officials rejected the accusations. "We have nothing to do with this operation," said Hezbollah spokesman Mr Sheikh Hassan Izz al-Din.

"They can say what they want but we have no connection to what happened."

In the last border attack, in August, one Israeli soldier was killed when Hezbollah hit military positions in the disputed Shaba Farms area. Hezbollah attacks have dropped dramatically since Israel withdrew its army from southern Lebanon in May 2000, but the Iranian-backed group has kidnapped three soldiers since then and carried out several border attacks.

Israeli defence officials fear that Hezbollah will try to escalate the situation on the border in the event of a US strike on Iraq.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority Minister Mr Nabil Sha'ath announced yesterday that the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, would resume talks with the militant Hamas group within a few days over a possible halt to attacks on Israelis.

At the talks, which are to be held in Gaza and Cairo, Fatah officials are expected to renew their demand for an end to all attacks on Israeli citizens as the first step towards a ceasefire.