A Palestinian boy looks up at an Israeli policeman who stopped him and his father from entering occupied Jerusalem to perform prayers

Additional reporting by Mustafa al Sawwaf, IOL Correspondent

BARTAA, West Bank, July 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – While Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas was in Washington to discuss peace with U.S. President George Bush, an Israeli soldier gunned down Friday, July 25, a 4-year-old Palestinian and injured his two sisters when he fired 16 bullets at a car they were boarding near the West Bank village of Bartaa, in an the Israeli army described as an "accident."

The youngster, named as Mahmud Qabha, died after an Israeli soldier fired a hail of bullets into his grandfather's car, officials and witnesses said.

His two sisters, aged six and seven, were also wounded in the shooting, which the Israeli army claimed was an "accidental" discharge of a machine-gun manned by a soldier who was on top of an armored vehicle, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"We express our regrets and an inquiry has been launched," an Israeli army told AFP.

The boy's grandfather told AFP that he had parked his Mitsubishi jeep some 200 meters (yards) away from an Israeli tank when shots rang out without warning.

"Immediately the tank shot without any warning. The bullets cut through the head of my grandchild," Mustafa Atatra cried out.

"About 16 bullets went into the car. My wife was also wounded in the leg."

 ‘Pool Of Blood’

A pool of blood could be seen on the seat and floor of the blue and gray-colored jeep which was still parked at the scene of the shooting. Its windows had been shattered.

As news filtered through to locals, scores gathered at the scene to protest the Israeli crime.

Some angrily accused Israeli soldiers of killing children while others attempted to rush at the soldiers but were held back.

The atmosphere in the area has been soured by Israel 's construction of a separation concrete wall between the West Bank and Israel .

Abbas was expected to call Bush to press Israeli into removing checkpoints in the occupied West Bank and halting the building of the separation wall.

An Israeli border guard on Thursday, July 24, shot and killed a Bedouin claiming he was carrying illegal Palestinian workers in his vehicle in southern Israel .

After the shooting of the Bedouin, identified as 23-year-old Mohammed Bau al-Jihan, dozens of his tribe threw stones at the Israeli police near the scene of the shooting in Negev , injuring one.

‘Incursion’

In a continuation of its aggressions, one Palestinian was wounded in a shooting as the Israeli army carried out an incursion into the West Bank town of Jenin overnight, a Palestinian security source said Friday.

Israeli forces opened fire after entering the town in jeeps and armored vehicles to detain what they called "suspected militants", the source added.

An Israeli military spokesman claimed a patrol had been "met with a rocket attack in Jenin and responded".

The Israeli army also announced that 10 Palestinians had been detained during the night, under the pretext of "being involved in anti-Israeli attacks".

There has been a marked drop in unrest since the announcement of a truce by major Palestinian resistance groups on June 29 but small-scale violence has continued.

Al-Aqsa

In occupied Jerusalem , Israeli police restricted access for Al-Haram al-Sharif, fearing protests by Palestinians against a decision to allow visits by Jews and foreign tourists to the holy shrine.

Israeli police have banned Palestinian men under the age of 40 from performing their prayers inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

Around a hundred Israeli policemen have also been deployed around the Muslim quarter in the walled old city of Jerusalem where the compound is located, according to sources.

Palestinian officials on Thursday, at a meeting attended by President Yasser Arafat, denounced the visits to the site which have been taking place under Israeli police protection for more than a month.

The meeting, which included representatives from a raft of Palestinian organizations, had "discussed the serious situation in Jerusalem ... especially the concerns over the Al-Aqsa mosque," said one official source.

A statement issued after the meeting said "the permission given by the Israeli forces for extremists and settlers to enter Al-Aqsa mosque is particularly dangerous."

Arafat urged Arabs and Muslims to prevent "the danger of Israeli incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque", the statement added.

Israel 's minister for internal security Tzahi Hanegbi confirmed he had decided to continue to authorize organized visits to the holy site.

"Some Jews and other non-Muslims can have the opportunity to visit the compound but at this stage it is not a question of allowing them to pray in public," he told Israeli military radio.

Hanegbi said that he was merely restoring the status quo that existed before the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifida which erupted against Israeli occupation 33 months ago following a controversial visit to the site by then opposition leader Ariel Sharon.

Several ultra-nationalist Israeli groups have been consistently lobbying for the right of Jews to pray at the site.

But Uri Lupolianski, the first ever ultra-orthodox mayor of occupied Jerusalem , has denounced the resumption of visits by non-Muslims to the site as a provocation.

Permission for the visits came from Sharon, Hanegbi and the police.

‘Assassination’

Meanwhile, Palestinian military intelligence chief General Moussa Arafat said Friday that he was the target of an assassination attempt by a rocket attack on his headquarters that wounded 13 people.

"This was an assassination attempt on the life of General Moussa Arafat," a statement released by his office said condemning the Thursday attack.

Palestinian medical sources told IslamOnline.net that ten Palestinians, including seven prisoners and three servicemen, were wounded in the blast caused by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

Although the RPG caused minor damage to the military intelligence building, where Gen. Moussa's office is located, a nearby prison, also inside the compound, sustained the brunt of the damage.

Palestinian Authority sources said Gen. Arafat’s relation with other security bodies has deteriorated after the appointment of Mohamed Dahlan as Palestinian state minister for security affairs.

Pullout

Sharon's office announced Friday that Israel will take a series of measures to advance the peace process, including handing two cities in the West Bank to Palestinian control and paving the way for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

" Israel will transfer security responsibility for two additional cities in Judea and Samaria ( West Bank )," said the statement.

"The decision as to which cities, the nature of the security responsibility and the transfer timing will be made at a meeting to be held at the beginning of next week between Defense Minister (Shaul) Mofaz and Mohammed Dahlan."

"Several Dozen"

The statement added that a ministerial committee, which had already approved the release of several hundred Palestinians, would "reconvene at the beginning of August in order to discuss changes in the criteria so as to facilitate the release of hundreds of additional prisoners."

Israeli security services have recommended that an additional 250 Palestinians be freed from Israeli jails, including members of resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Haaretz daily reported Friday.

The names have been added to an initial list of some 350 prisoners and include "several dozen" Hamas and Islamic Jihad members, the paper said quoting sources who have seen the revised list.

The Israeli ministerial commission decided earlier this week to rubberstamp the release of the 350 prisoners who were classified as "administrative detainees" but deferred a decision on other names which had been added to the list.

No Hamas or Islamic Jihad members were on the original list.