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Shoot-Out In Gaza Leaves One Israeli Soldier And Palestinian Policeman Dead
by Sakher Abu El Oun
GAZA CITY (AFP) - A Palestinian policeman attacked an Israeli army outpost in the Gaza Strip Saturday, killing an Israeli soldier before being shot dead, a day after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged a halt to shooting.
The policeman entered the outpost at the Kefar Darom Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip early morning, firing on Israeli soldiers and killing 21-year-old Baruch Plum from Tel Aviv, while wounding two others, one critically, the Israeli army said in a statement.
Palestinian officials later identified the policeman as Baha Salama Said, 28, from the nearby village of Deir el-Balah. They did not explain why the policeman carried out the attack.
Officials said the policeman's body was sent to Gaza's Shifa Hospital, before a funeral was held at a Palestinian refugee camp in Maghazi.
Mourners at the funeral said the policeman launched the attack to "avenge the killing of someone close to him."
A Palestinian official said that during the first Intifida from 1987 to 1993, the man was one of the "Falcons of Fatah," referring to the military arm of Arafat's Fatah movement.
Saturday's deadly shoot-out raised the death toll in the seven-week Intifada, or uprising, to 243 people, mostly Palestinians.
The Israeli army initially said the Palestinian was a terrorist.
"A lone terrorist penetrated the compound and fired in the soldiers' direction, hitting one of them," an army statement said.
"An exchange of fire ensured, during which two other soldiers were injured and the terrorist was killed," the army said.
Later, Israel's army commander in the Gaza Strip, General Yair Naveh told state radio that the attacker was indeed "a police officer sent by" the Palestinian preventive security unit, led by Mohammed Dahlan.
Palestinian officials said that shortly after the attack, Israeli helicopters fired rockets on an installation of Force 17, Arafat's elite private guard near the Gush Katif Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding four Palestinians, one of them seriously.
The installation's radio facility was destroyed in the raid, the sources said.
But Israeli army commander in southern Gaza, Yom-Tov Samia, said Israeli helicopters had not launched an attack.
"We deny this report, but reserve the right to retaliate," he warned.
The fresh violence came a day after Arafat urged Palestinians to silence their guns against Israeli targets from areas under his control.
"We try with all of our efforts to prevent any person of our people to shoot from our areas, and this is a clear order from the High Security Council," Arafat said in a television interview, later broadcast on Palestinian radio.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak gave a lukewarm reaction to Arafat's call.
"Israel is waiting for acts and not words," Barak told a delegation of French Jews visiting Israel.
Israeli operations commander, General Giora Eiland said the order "'don't shoot from our territory,'" was ambiguous.
"Does this mean that there is a permission to continue shooting from the other areas? Otherwise, why was this distinction required? This is a very obvious question," Eiland said.
On Friday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinians in widespread violence across the territories.
One victim, 14-year-old Mohammed Abu Reyan died after soldiers shot him in the head in the village of Halhul, north of Hebron, hospital officials said.
In Hebron, Hamza Abu Shehedim, 18, died after soldiers shot him in the stomach, the sources said.
Medical officials said 24 other people were injured in sporadic clashes throughout the Hebron area, still in shock after two Palestinians were killed there late Thursday, one at point blank range by an Israeli soldier and another who was to be married on Friday.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Mahmud Samur, 38, died after Israeli troops shot him in the chest during clashes following Muslim weekly prayers on Friday.
Hardline Palestinian groups have declared Fridays “days of rage”.
Samur, a Palestinian, had been visiting the West Bank as a tourist and normally resided in Jordan.
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