Shooting of schoolgirl endangers ceasefire

Israeli gunfire killed a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl today, prompting militants to fire several rounds of mortar shells at Jewish settlements and endangering an unofficial ceasefire between the two sides.

Despite the heightened tensions, top Israeli and Palestinian security officials planned to meet tonight to work out the details of a handover of several West Bank towns to Palestinian control.

The talks were the latest signs of warming ties between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. The Gaza violence, however, strained the atmosphere of goodwill as the two sides try to end more than four years of violence and restart peace talks.

Norhan Deeb was killed in the courtyard of a United Nations school in the Rafah refugee camp. The camp, located near the Egyptian border, is a frequent flashpoint of violence between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen.

Palestinian witnesses said the gunfire had come from a nearby Israeli military position along the border, and medical workers said the girl was killed by a tank. The Israeli army said it knew of no shooting in the area, but said it had opened a high-level investigation in coordination with the Palestinians.

Palestinian witnesses and UN officials said the girl was hit in the head as she and other pupils lined up in the schoolyard for afternoon assembly.

“I didn’t hear any shooting. Suddenly, I heard Norhan screaming. Then she fell down,” said Aysha Khateeb, a classmate who was wounded in the hand. “I looked at my hand and saw blood.” Both girls were rushed to a hospital, where Norhan was pronounced dead.

Khateeb spoke from her hospital bed, and burst into tears as the covered body of her classmate was wheeled by on a stretcher.

In the Israeli-Palestinian security meeting, set for tonight, Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Dahlan were to complete preparations for a security handover in the West Bank.

Palestinian police commanders said they were told to prepare to take control of four West Bank cities – Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem and Jericho – as soon as Wednesday.

Abbas and Sharon are heading toward their first meeting since 2003, when Abbas was prime minister. February 8 has been set as a tentative date for the summit, which would come two days after a scheduled visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In Jerusalem, Jewish settlers and their supporters protested outside parliament for a second day against Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, demanding that Prime Minister Sharon hold a referendum on his plan.

More than 100,000 settlers participated in a massive demonstration against the withdrawal plan on Sunday night. Several hundred spent the night in tents outside parliament, and resumed their demonstration Monday.

However, the protest is unlikely to deter Sharon, who has stabilised his coalition government with backers of the Gaza withdrawal. Sharon has also expressed a willingness to coordinate the pullout with the Palestinians, reversing his previous plan for a unilateral pullout.

Israeli military officials said the fatal shooting of a Palestinian girl in a Gaza refugee camp appeared to be caused by Palestinian gunfire.

However, the army did not rule out the possibility that Noran Deeb had been hit by Israeli gunfire.

A military official said a preliminary investigation had found a “high likelihood” that the girl was hit by Palestinian gunfire. The official said that Palestinian revellers had been shooting into the air in the area.