Enraged Jewish settlers clash with Palestinians in Gaza

JEWISH settlers enraged by a clash with Israeli troops near a settlement turned on Palestinians, sparking a violent melee that left at least three people wounded, including one Palestinian in a critical condition.

Palestinians responded by hurling rocks at the settlers, and soldiers fired in the air to separate the sides, the army said. The settlers had been holed up in an abandoned Palestinian home in Gaza, and the army declared the area a closed military zone. Troops prepared to move in to evict the Jewish squatters, witnesses said.

In Israel, a planned nationwide protest fizzled out after thousands of police were out in force to keep highways open. Protesters blocked the entrance to Jerusalem, a highway near Tel Aviv and a Haifa intersection, but the actions were no more than briefly inconvenient to motorists - falling short of pullout opponents' hopes.