Israeli minister sorry for shooting incident

The Israeli Justice Minister, Yossi Beilin, has made a personal apology to a leading Palestinian official for an incident in which Israeli troops opened fire on his West Bank office two days ago.

Several bullets hit the office in Ramallah in what the official, Mahmud Abbas Abu-Mazin, described as a deliberate assassination attempt.

Mr Abbas - a deputy to the Palestian leader Yasser Arafat - said he had just left the room when the bullets struck.

The Israeli media says Mr Beilin has telephoned Mr Abbas to say he was convinced there was no intention of harming him personally.

The incident happened during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians demonstrating after Friday prayers.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service