Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops operating in the village of Yamoun, near Jenin, according to Palestinian sources Tuesday.
Earlier, according to reports, an Israeli military force encircled a structure in the village. Soldiers reportedly fired at the two Palestinians after they left the house and attempted to fire at troops. The two vicitims were identified as Islamic Jihad members.
"The assassination in Jenin was a very bad incident, a criminal act. We condemn it strongly, it is in violation of all agreements," Ahmed Qurei, the Palestinian Premier told a weekly cabinet meeting in Gaza.
Both the al-Aqsa brigades and Hamas, a group bent on Israel's destruction, said they would avenge the killings. "We will respond fiercely and deep inside Israel to take revenge for Israel killing our two men here in Jenin," said Zakariya Zbeideh, head of the al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin, according to <i>Reuters</i>.
In the meantime, also Tuesday, in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian security forces and Hamas members fought gun-fights in renewed internal battles.
The clashes erupted as Palestinians overnight reportedly fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military base near a Gaza settlement, causing no injuries. The internal Palestinian clashes emerged in spite of Egyptian mediating efforts to ease the tense situation, after two teenagers were killed several days ago in heated internal fighting.
In a separate incident, a child was killed and two others of the same family were injured early Tuesday while they were playing with an unidentified object, the Interior and National Security Ministry said.
The ministry statement identified the victim as nine-year-old Aydah Mutaz Daghmash from Al-Sabrah neighborhood and said two of her brothers were injured in the incident and taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Israel's police early Tuesday were placed on a rare "state of emergency alert," their highest alert status, as a leader of the mass anti-disengagement protest outside the Gaza Strip said the tens of thousands of demonstrators camped in "Kfar Maimon" would continue their march later in the day.
Israel's Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said Tuesday that, "The issue that most concerns us is that we see to it that no one will reach Gush Katif. That is the goal."
Police are to mobilize all of their forces, with officers returning from leaves and working longer shifts, to cover duties nationwide as more than 10,000 police and troops seek to prevent demonstrators from breaking through roadblocks.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
