Tension in Gaza as children are buried

Israel have arrested six members of Yasser Arafat's elite guard, as mourners from both sides buried children killed in the conflict.

Tension was high in the West Bank and Gaza after two days of intense clashes.

Palestinians buried seven people killed in confrontations with Israeli troops.

Israeli special forces arrested the six Palestinians, including a regional commander of Force 17, at the entrance to the village of Jilijiyeh, north of Ramallah, according to Palestinian official Ribhi Arafat.

An Israeli official confirmed the arrests, but said only five were Force 17 members.

On Wednesday, Israeli helicopters attacked Force 17 headquarters and buildings in Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, after Israel charged that commanders of the elite force were directly involved in attacks against Israelis.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the arrests, calling them "part of the Israeli escalation plan".

In the divided West Bank city Hebron, Jewish settlers and their supporters marched to an ancient cemetery for the burial of Shalhevet Pass, a 10-month-old baby killed in a gunfire incident last week.

The Israeli military said a sniper on a Palestinian-controlled Abu Sneineh hill across from a Jewish enclave killed the baby and wounded her father with a single shot.

About 3,000 people walked through the silent centre of the city, where Israeli soldiers imposed a curfew to keep Palestinians in their homes, to the ancient Jewish cemetery. Eulogising the baby, rabbi Dov Lior called in the Israeli government to "avenge her blood ... which has been shed by dark villains".