About 200 Palestinians stranded for months on the Egyptian border have crossed back to their homes in the Gaza Strip and more are expected to follow, Israel said today.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday played down expectations for a peace deal with the Palestinians before the end of 2008 as laid out at a US-sponsored peace conference last week.

Israel let 199 Palestinians out of the blockaded Gaza Strip today.

A Palestinian rocket exploded in an Israeli army base early today, wounding 50 soldiers and drawing Israeli calls for a major military operation against rocket squads in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early today, attacking a military post and killing two Israelis before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said.

The Gaza Strip’s main gateway to the outside world was closed again today due to an Israeli security alert in the area, European monitors at the crossing said.

The Gaza Strip’s main gateway to the outside world was closed today following an Israeli security alert in the area, European monitors at the crossing said.

Israel today opened an additional crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow emergency food from Egypt to enter the impoverished Palestinian area.

The tense situation at the Gaza-Egypt border was brought under control today after it was stormed by a group of rebel policemen furious over a colleague’s killing, the Palestinian police chief said.

Palestinian policemen angry over growing lawlessness in the Gaza Strip stormed the Gaza-Egypt border crossing today, scaring off European monitors who fled the area and forcing the border to close.

Palestinians took control of border traffic for the first time ever today, allowing thousands to cross into Egypt from the Gaza Strip in a limited opening of the joint frontier.

Israeli forces today evacuated an old army base in the northern West Bank used last as a staging area for removing settlers and protesters from two settlements last month, but soldiers shot dead a young Palestinian who entered the base too quickly.

Israel today closed the vital Gaza-Egypt border crossing just days before completing its military pullout from the coastal strip.

Israel is to close the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt until further notice, officials said today, after proposing new arrangements that could include movement of Palestinians in and out of Gaza under the supervision of foreign inspectors without an Israeli presence.

Israel is proposing a dual crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow for free exit from Gaza but control over goods entering the territory, Israeli defence officials said today.

Security officials today began collecting army-issued weapons from residents of two West Bank settlements marked for evacuation in an effort to prevent violence during Israel’s upcoming withdrawal from the area, according to officials and media reports.

ISRAEL will insist on moving the Gaza-Egypt border crossing to a new location after Israel’s pullout from Gaza so Israeli inspectors can continue to check goods and people, Israel’s Security Cabinet was told yesterday.

Israel will insist on moving the Gaza-Egypt border crossing to a new location after Israel’s pullout from Gaza so Israeli inspectors can continue to check goods and people, Israel’s Security Cabinet was told today, and the emerging position appears to rule out the deployment of foreign inspectors at Gaza crossings.