A security panel headed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip early today after a wave of kidnappings that included a Palestinian police chief and four French citizens.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Gaza AN Israeli helicopter fired missiles yesterday into a house in a Gaza City neighbourhood known as a Palestinian militant stronghold, killing at least two people, witnesses said.

The US vetoed a UN resolution that called on Israel to halt threats to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from the West Bank.

ISRAEL yesterday published a list of 342 Palestinian prisoners it plans to release tomorrow in a bid to bolster a US-backed peace plan and reformist Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

PRIME MINISTER Ariel Sharon vowed yesterday, after an Israeli-Palestinian security meeting, to continue attacks on militants suspected of planning suicide bombings, a senior Israeli political source said.

Palestinian terror groups held out the prospect of a truce today as the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers prepared to take another step on the road map to peace.

THE Israeli ambassador to the United States yesterday said Israel will be ready to start withdrawing troops from Palestinian territories, if terrorist attacks against Israel were halted.

THE family of a young British Muslim blamed by Israeli police for a suicide attack on a seafront bar in Tel Aviv yesterday spoke of their shock.

Israeli security forces were today hunting for a man holding a British passport who they say attempted a suicide bomb attack on a Tel Aviv beachfront bar.

ISRAELI soldiers killed two Palestinians in a major West Bank raid yesterday after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rebuffed a post-election olive branch extended by Yasser Arafat.

Israel today shut down two West Bank universities as two Palestinians were killed in clashes with the army.

Israeli soldiers destroyed the homes of two Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip today.

ISRAELI forces killed two Palestinian militants yesterday, including one wanted for plotting a suicide bombing, as they were returning to their hiding place in a West Bank cave.

PALESTINIANS shot dead a rabbi from a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Thursday in what militants called the first response to an Israeli air strike that killed 15 Palestinians, including a top militant.

PALESTINIAN gunmen killed an Israeli officer in the Gaza Strip and Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in the West Bank yesterday, ensuring tension remains high despite a resumption of talks between the sides.