Mideast tank fire kills women in tent

JERUSALEM - A fragile Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire hung precariously in the balance yesterday after Israeli tank fire killed three Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip.

The deaths were the first Israeli or Palestinian fatalities since Palestinian President Yasser Arafat vowed to comply with an Israeli truce aimed at ending eight months of bloodshed.

Hospital officials said Israeli tank shells killed Selmiya al-Malalha, Hekmat al-Malalha and Nasra al-Malalha as they sat in their tent home close to the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in Gaza.

At least three others were wounded, two seriously.

The Israeli Army said it fired three tank shells after its soldiers came under attack in three separate incidents close to Netzarim.

The deaths and funerals of the women yesterday threatened to provide a flashpoint for tensions that have simmered in recent days as international diplomats scramble to shore up the truce.

Prime Minister Goran Persson of Sweden, which holds the European Union presidency, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana were due to meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for separate talks overnight.

Their drive coincides with a United States-led peace effort, at the centre of which is a proposal submitted by CIA chief George Tenet to both sides on Friday for steps to end the violence, including a six-week timetable for implementation.

Palestinian and Israeli officials said they expected their security officials to respond to the plan when they met Tenet in the West Bank town of Ramallah yesterday for their second such meeting in three days.

The deaths of the three women followed a day of sporadic violence in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday in which at least five Palestinians were wounded as they protested against Israel's blockades.

As the shaky ceasefire entered its second week, the Israeli Army reported at least 12 incidents of gunfire directed at Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza on Friday and Saturday.

It said Palestinians fired seven mortar bombs at Israeli targets in Gaza, lightly wounding a Thai worker.

At least five Palestinian-stonethrowers were wounded in a number of isolated West Bank confrontations with Israeli soldiers, who used rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds.

At least 453 Palestinians, 110 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since the uprising began.

- REUTERS

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