Israeli-Palestinian violence rises

TULKARM, West Bank - A gunman has opened fire on an Israeli convoy in the northern West Bank wounding two Israeli soldiers, the army says.

The shooting occurred near the West Bank town of Baqa al Sharqiya, near Tulkarm, amid an increase in Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent days despite efforts to restore calm before a January 9 Palestinian election to replace Yasser Arafat.

An army spokesman said both of the wounded are soldiers.

An Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car carrying two Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday, though they managed to escape without serious injury. That attack came in response to a barrage of mortar assaults on Jewish settlements.

Palestinian sources said a gunman fired on a military jeep and that ambulances raced to the site to treat the wounded. Israel Radio said the military vehicle struck had been accompanying a convoy of civilian vehicles, which the Israeli commonly does to protect Jewish settlers on their way to work and school.

- REUTERS