A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli border police while trying to break into a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, an army spokeswoman said today.
"Border police prevented an attack in Gush Katif earlier this morning. They saw an armed terrorist near the fence and shot at him, killing him," she said, adding that they found an AK47 assault rifle and several hand grenades beside the body.
The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The head of the border police unit said two armed men had been trying to infiltrate the fence around the settlement, but the second one fled.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing this sort of thing several times a day in the last few months," he said.
Palestinian security sources confirmed Israeli troops had fired heavy machine-guns and a tank shell in the area, but could not confirm whether anyone had been killed.
Earlier, an Israeli soldier was lightly injured in the Gush Katif area when an army jeep ran over an explosive device, the spokeswoman said. The blast was claimed by the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.
AFP