Israeli army kills eight-year-old

An eight-year-old boy was among three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces overnight in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military meanwhile tightened its grip on Bethlehem, with tanks patrolling the streets for the first time in months after a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli army officer near the Church of the Nativity.

The violence flared as the army made it difficult for Palestinian Muslims to move about the West Bank during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Israel said it had tightened travel restrictions – despite initial plans to ease them – due to intelligence warnings that Palestinian militants were planning suicide attacks in Israel.

In Bethlehem, the Palestinian sniper opened fire late last night on an Israeli military vehicle on patrol near the church, which marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

The army said soldiers were checking a suspicious vehicle when a Palestinian fired from a nearby alley and killed the officer.

Shortly after the attack, Israeli soldiers declared a curfew, confining Palestinians to their homes. Two tanks rumbled into the biblical town, heading for Manger Square in front of the church, witnesses said.

It was the first time Israeli tanks have been seen in Bethlehem since June.

In the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, Palestinians said Israeli troops surrounded two houses, searching for militants, and Palestinians threw firebombs at them.

The eight-year-old boy was killed and nine other people wounded when soldiers fired back, the Palestinian witnesses said.

The Israeli military confirmed soldiers had shot at Palestinians who threw firebombs at them, but gave no information on casualties.

In the northern Gaza Strip, troops shot dead two Palestinians trying to breach a fence surrounding the Jewish settlement of Dugit, the army said, adding that knives and hand grenades were found on the bodies.

A military spokesman said shots were also fired at a third man, but soldiers were still searching the area to find out if he had been hit.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have been meeting recently in another attempt to end fighting that is now in its 29th month.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week met a top aide of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, marking Sharon’s first direct contacts with top-level Palestinian officials in about a year.

Israel is proposing a phased ceasefire under which it would pull out of some West Bank towns, with Palestinian security forces taking control.