A US-born Israeli soldier who refused to take part in an army operation to destroy empty buildings in the Gaza Strip before evacuation of the entire territory later this summer has been sentenced to 56 days in jail, the army spokesperson said yesterday.

Egypt’s foreign minister and Israel’s prime minister today discussed the terms of a planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

A radar system installed in an Israeli border town provides a 20 second warning if Palestinian militants fire rockets from the nearby Gaza Strip, an Israeli arms manufacturer said today.