Five killed in raid on Gaza refugee camp

GAZA - The Israeli Army shot dead five Palestinians and wounded 45, many of them civilians, in a major raid into the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses and medics said yesterday.

Weekend bloodshed that included the killing of a Palestinian television cameraman in the West Bank cast a shadow over United States preparations to unveil a long-delayed "roadmap" peace plan once Palestinians install a cabinet dedicated to democratic reform.

New uncertainty loomed after the Prime Minister-designate, Mahmoud Abbas, stalked out of cabinet talks yesterday and threatened to quit after his choice to run the security services was again rejected by President Yasser Arafat.

Dozens of Israeli tanks and other armoured vehicles entered Rafah, sparking fighting that caused the casualties, witnesses and medics said.

Army bulldozers demolished the home of a fugitive Islamic militant and troops blew up another house alleged to conceal the mouth of a tunnel from nearby Egypt used to smuggle in weapons to militants.

Israel forces later withdrew.

The Army had no immediate comment. Israeli military sources earlier said the incursion struck at "terror activity" emanating from the camp.

Palestinian medics said two of the dead were civilian males aged 14 and 32 and the others were a militant, a policeman and an unidentified man. They said many of the wounded were civilians including women and children, and some gunmen.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian cameraman Nazih Darwazeh, aged 45, was shot dead by Israeli troops while filming a clash between them and Palestinians, nearby Reuters journalists and other witnesses said.

Television footage showed Darwazeh wearing a bright yellow, sleeveless jacket marked "Press" as he worked.

An Israeli Army spokeswoman said the incident happened near the end of an Army pursuit of militants in Nablus' casbah, or ancient quarter, when an armoured vehicle got stuck and was hemmed in by Palestinians throwing stones and petrol bombs.

Major Sharon Feingold said "our forces used non-lethal weapons to disperse them and when that didn't help they used light weapons".

Witnesses in Nablus said there had been no Palestinian gunfire in the area at the time.

- REUTERS