Eight Killed In Gaza Violence

An Israeli raid on a Gaza refugee camp killed eight Palestinians on Tuesday in the worst violence in the Gaza Strip in two months — just hours after a high-level Egyptian peace mission to Israel.

Monday's visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher was marred by a confrontation with Palestinian extremists at the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site that landed him briefly in the hospital.

Israel earlier told Maher it would abide by a cease-fire with the Palestinians, though it would not sign a truce with militant groups.

Early Tuesday, about 40 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles entered the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border, Palestinians said.

Eight Palestinians — five militants and three civilians — were killed and 42 other people, including nine children, were wounded by Israeli gunfire, hospital officials said. The violence marked the bloodiest day in Gaza in two months.

One of those killed, Ahmed Majar, 32, was a Palestinian police officer heading to his job at the Rafah border crossing. He was shot in the head, his family said.

Another victim was Ala Bakhloul, a 23-year-old militant shot twice in the stomach, hospital officials said.

At funerals held hours later, the sounds of mourning mixed with those of gunfire and moving tanks.

The death toll in the raid was the worst since 14 Palestinians were killed in an Oct. 20 Israeli bombing at the Nusseirat refugee camp in Gaza.

The army, which has raided Rafah repeatedly in recent weeks, said the operation was a part of its ongoing efforts to expose weapons smuggling tunnels and that troops fired in response to attacks by Palestinian militants. One tunnel was found.

"In the past, these tunnels have been used for delivering arms to terrorists for direct use against Israeli civilians, and Israel has vowed to put an end to such tunnels," said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the raid, which came as officials tried to set up a summit between the Israeli and Palestinian premiers and jump-start the stalled "road map" peace plan.

"Another incursion, another bloody day for the Palestinians," Erekat said.

Residents said families fled the area in their pajamas and Israeli snipers were firing from rooftops. Helicopters flew overhead and explosions were heard throughout the morning. At least seven houses were destroyed, residents said.

Also Tuesday, two gunmen shot an Israeli vehicle in a rare attack along the border with Egypt, the army and witnesses said. The car was hit, but no one was injured, and the army was searching for the attackers. It was not immediately clear where the gunmen came from.

In separate violence, a Palestinian threw a grenade Monday evening at Israeli soldiers in Gaza during a firefight, killing two officers, and the army said. Soldiers killed the attacker and another armed Palestinian, the military said.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a group loosely linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, and Islamic Jihad took responsibility.

After the attack, the army raided a nearby village, destroying six houses and razing several farms, witnesses said. The army had no immediate comment.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops closed off the refugee camp of Balata on Tuesday with piles of dirt and trenches while searching for militants.

As part of Egypt's efforts to broker a cease-fire in the conflict, Maher met with Israeli officials Monday. On his return to Egypt early Tuesday, he said he was undaunted by the Al Aqsa confrontation.

"We are working so the Palestinian people can regain their rights and achieve peace and sovereignty and establish a Palestinian state," Maher said. "(The attack) is a passing matter that does not affect the essence of the Egyptian policy ... Nothing will change that."

During the confrontation, Maher appeared shaken as bodyguards and Israeli police whisked him out of the mosque compound, while protesters shouted and hurled shoes — a deep insult in Islamic culture. The guards supported Maher as he grimaced and clutched his chest.

Witnesses heard him gasping, "I'm going to choke, I'm going to choke," as he left the compound through a gate above the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site.

Israeli rescue workers treated him for 30 minutes before he was transferred by limousine to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital. He was released five hours later and flew home.

Israeli police said they arrested seven suspects in the attack.

In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's office issued a statement denouncing the "irresponsible" attack, pledging that it "will not derail Egypt's efforts to achieve a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli talks, with the effective participation of other peace-loving partners."

The Palestinian Authority also criticized the attack.

In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel, but relations have deteriorated during three years of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In recent weeks Egypt — along with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia — has been trying in vain to coax a cease-fire declaration from Palestinian militant groups.

In a potential shift that could breathe new life into the efforts, Sharon told Maher that Israel would halt activity against the militants if there is a cease-fire, by responding "to quiet with quiet," said a senior source in the prime minister's office, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source said Maher indicated the talks could lead to a summit between Sharon and Mubarak.