Gun battle in Gaza

"Days of rage" protest over Palestinian prisoners

Fierce battles have been raging in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as Palestinians protest over Israel's continued refusal to release prisoners.

One Israeli soldier was seriously wounded in a fire fight with Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim.

More than 40 Palestinians were injured during the protests there and across the West Bank.

The Israelis say the protests are holding up progress in the peace talks and souring the atmosphere.

High alert

Protests earlier in the week left at least three Palestinians dead and hundreds wounded.

Ehud Barak's effigy in flames

Israeli security forces had been put on high alert, with tanks and helicopters ready to deal with the widespread demonstrations planned for Friday and Saturday.

The so-called "days of rage" were called to protest against Israel's refusal to free more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have been on hunger strike since the beginning of the month.

Israel, which argues that many of the prisoners were involved in acts of violence against Israeli civilians, has said it has no plans to release anyone in the near future.

Palestinian groups organising the latest demonstrations urged people not to resort to firearms when confronted by the Israeli army.

Gun battles

At the beginning of the week, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen - some of them members of Yasser Arafat's security forces - fought long gun battles on the streets of the West Bank.

The anger which fuelled those engagements has not diminished and Israel's display of strength was designed to send a warning to the Palestinians not to attempt a repeat of Monday's clashes.

Israeli police arrest a demonstrator

In this heated atmosphere, and with heavy fighting also reported from southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is thinking about postponing or even cancelling a planned trip to the US.

He is due to meet President Clinton next week to discuss the peace process.

The BBC Jerusalem correspondent, Hilary Andersson, says Palestinian officials acknowledge privately that this week's violence has gone further than they would have wished.

She says this suggests that popular frustration is now at a dangerous peak.