Israelis seal off Nablus, kill two militants in Gaza

DOZENS of Israeli soldiers sealed off the Old City of Nablus with barbed wire and cement blocks yesterday, while troops conducted house-to-house searches in one of the biggest operations in the area in months.

Two Palestinians were wounded in clashes, hospital sources said.

Troops in Jeeps and bulldozers raided the city late on Wednesday, exchanging fire with armed Palestinians and placing residents of Nablus' Casbah under a strict curfew. The army said, during searches, troops found a belt with 44 pounds of explosives.

The army said troops also found a roadside bomb and detonated it. Nablus Mayor Mahmoud Aloul said the troops were shooting and blowing up doors in the Old City's alleys and rounding up residents for questioning at two makeshift command centres.

Israel has long labelled Nablus a "hornet's nest" of militant activity. Many Palestinian suicide bombers come from the city, and fighting between troops and militants has been especially fierce during more than three years of violence. The army said a handful of suspects had been detained in yesterday's raid, but Palestinians said no major fugitives had been captured so far. During the raid, soldiers shot at a group of Palestinians, wounding two, hospital officials said. Palestinians said the men were shot after they threw stones at soldiers. The army said troops shot at a group of armed men after one threw a firebomb and the others opened fire at soldiers.

No Israelis were injured.

In Gaza, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians wearing bulletproof vests and armed with rifles and grenades who approached an outpost near the Jewish settlement of Dugit, the army said.

Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, took joint responsibility for the attempted attack.

Violence in Gaza has increased in recent months as Israel and the Palestinians vie with each other to credit a planned Israeli pullout as a strategic victory. Egypt is pushing to train and reform Palestinian security forces to ensure a smooth handover if Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon implements his plan to evacuate all Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements by September 2005.

Sharon refuses to negotiate with the Palestinians and has asked Egypt which borders Gaza and fears chaos on its doorstep after a withdrawal to help guarantee security.

In a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman outlined a timeline for reforms, including a truce between Palestinian factions by September, followed by a weapons roundup and the dismantling of militant groups.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia welcomed Egypt's plan. After a truce is reached, some 200 Egyptian advisers will begin training forces in Gaza. By September, the Palestinians will also have to present a detailed plan on reforming the security services.

Israeli officials were wary as to whether Arafat who has repeatedly balked at reforming his security forces, relinquishing power and rounding up militants would follow through this time.

While Egypt works to ensure order in Gaza, Israel faces the complex task of figuring out how to remove the 7,500 mostly hardline settlers from Gaza. A group of influential settler rabbis ruled on Wednesday that Israeli soldiers and police who evacuate settlers are violating Jewish law, Daniel Shiloh, a rabbinical leader in the Settlers' Council, told Israel's Army Radio.