Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he viewed "with great severity" the killing of an Israeli woman in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, as casting doubt on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's intentions to quell the unrest.
"Prime Minister Barak views this morning's shooting attack in Rafah, in which a woman was killed on her way to work at the border terminal, with great severity especially on the eve of Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat's trip to Washington," his office said in a statement.
"It calls into question the seriousness of Arafat's intentions to implement the Sharm understandings and decrease violence in the region," the statement added.
Israeli army radio reported earlier that a woman customs employee at the Rafah terminal on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was killed when her car came under Palestinian fire.
Arafat left Gaza earlier Wednesday for the United States for talks with US President Bill Clinton, via Egypt and Britain -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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