Boy, 9, killed as Israeli troops raid West Bank town and destroy houses

THE Israeli army carried out a sweeping raid against militants in the West Bank yesterday, killing four people and destroying a building that was home to 60.

Meanwhile, an Israeli developer began construction of a new neighbourhood in the section of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians.

The Israeli actions came as Palestinian officials and militants prepared to meet in Cairo to consider a ceasefire with Israel, while a model Mideast peace treaty was unveiled in Geneva and a US envoy arrived in hopes of restarting peace talks.

The army said its raid targeted the Hamas infrastructure in the Ramallah area, which it blames for killing over more than 60 Israelis in the three years of fighting.

More than 60 tanks, jeeps and armoured personnel carriers entered Ramallah, conducting house-to-house searches, arresting people and engaging militants in gun battles.

The army said troops killed three armed Hamas militants and arrested 29 Hamas members. Soldiers also discovered an explosives belt, two large stashes of explosives and destroyed an explosives laboratory.

A nine-year-old boy was killed when soldiers dispersed a crowd of rock-throwing protesters, Palestinians said. The army said it was investigating.

The military also demolished a four-storey building, leaving 60 people homeless. Israeli troops evacuated the building's residents, later giving them 15 minutes to collect their belongings before blowing up the structure.

"We believed there were still terrorists in the building so we had no choice but to blow it up," said Colonel Roni Numa, who commanded the Israeli operation.

Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel was acting on warnings that Palestinian militants were planning a terrorist attack, and denied the timing was intended to scuttle the truce talks or overshadow today's gala peace ceremony in Geneva.

A new Jerusalem housing project drew criticism from US, UN and Palestinian officials. Despite their concerns, bulldozers pushed ahead with road construction for the neighbourhood of Nof Zahav Golden View.

The development will abut Jabel Mukaber, a village built on a hillside not far from the UN's local headquarters, part of the area Israel annexed in the 1967 war.

A US Government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington viewed new construction in parts of Jerusalem occupied in 1967 as "settlement activity" which was therefore "inconsistent with the peace road map".