Tension remains as more die

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.

A military spokesman said the Israeli army captain was shot as troops searched for tunnels on the Egyptian border used by Palestinians to smuggle weapons into the southern Gaza Strip.

Commenting on the incident, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group with links to President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said its forces had confronted an army patrol just inside Gaza.