Israel kills six Palestinians in further Mid-East violence

Israeli soldiers have killed at least six Palestinians in separate incidents across the occupied Palestinian territories today.

Doctors said two gunmen and a civilian were killed in a gunbattle after Israeli troops invaded the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, while seven others were injured.

The soldiers also demolished buildings in the camp. The Israeli military said the operation was a search for tunnels used to smuggle arms under the border from Egypt.

Meanwhile, at least two Palestinians were also killed in heavy fighting following a separate invasion of a refugee camp on the outskirts of the West Bank town of Jenin.

Israeli tanks and soldiers entered the camp this morning, sparking a gunfight with local militants.

Elsewhere today, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man who ran towards an Israeli checkpoint near the West Bank town of Nablus.

This morning’s two incursions come after senior Israeli cabinet ministers decided yesterday to step up their war against the Palestinians after a weekend of violence that left 21 Israelis and 12 Palestinians dead.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli cabinet secretary Gideon Saar said the Saudi Arabian peace proposal which has sparked interest throughout the world is unacceptable to the Israelis.

He slammed a clause in the plan calling for Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders, but said the cabinet made no formal decision on the initiative.

Under the Saudi plan, Israel would withdraw from all the Palestinian territories which it seized in 1967 in return for a complete normalisation of relations with the Arab world.