Six killed in Israeli raids

Six killed in Israeli raids

The Rafah raid came hours after a pro-Iraq rally

Six Palestinians have been killed after a night of clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Israel radio confirmed Palestinian reports that four young men died when the army launched a raid with tanks, bulldozers and helicopters on the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza.

In the West Bank, troops killed a suspected Hamas activist in Nablus and shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in Qalqilya.

Witnesses said the boy had opened the door to look at troops outside; Israeli forces said he had been trying to run away.

Palestinians say it was the biggest such incursion since the war in Iraq began.

The Israeli army said they destroyed four buildings there that were part of what they called a "terrorist infrastructure" and concealed tunnels for weapons smuggling.

Troops left on Thursday morning after completing their mission, they said.

No secret tunnels were apparently found.

Israel radio said the four men died when troops returned fire. Other reports suggest at least one, possibly three, of the dead were killed by a missile from an Apache attack helicopter.

Four Israeli soldiers were lightly injured when a bomb blast overturned their armoured vehicle.

Hours before the Israeli incursion, hundreds of people had attended a pro-Iraq rally in the camp.

Men bussed out

In the West Bank, the Israeli army is continuing an operation in Tulkarm, where at least 1,000 men were rounded up on Wednesday.

Israel says the security sweep in Tulkarm is justified

The army's action comes after a man from a nearby village blew himself up outside a cafe in the Israeli town of Netanya on Sunday, wounding up to 50 people.

Troops backed by armour and helicopters swept into Tulkarm on Wednesday morning and imposed a curfew, ordering males aged between 14 and 30 to assemble in a school courtyard or face punishment.

The men were bussed out, clearing the town to allow the army to carry out a search operation.

Most of those detained were deposited a few miles away where they were ordered not to return home for three days as the army carried out searches in the town, Israeli radio said.

Eleven men identified as suspected militants were taken into custody.

Palestinians accuse Israel of taking advantage of the world's focus on the war in Iraq to intensify its attacks on them in an attempt to extinguish the the Palestinian uprising that began in September 2000.

"I urge the international community not to allow Israel to continue exploiting the war with Iraq to achieve its end goal," said Palestinian cabinet minister, Saeb Erekat, quoted by the Associated Press.