Israel Stops Gaza Attackers Dead

Israeli troops exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen near an Israeli settlement in the Northern Gaza Strip early Monday, killing at least three of the assailants, the army said.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades all claimed responsibility for the botched attack.

The Jerusalem Post reports Israeli forces had advance warning of the attack, and set up an ambush near the Netzarim settlement greenhouses. The community is in Gaza.

In the West Bank, army jeeps briefly entered the towns of Jenin and Tulkarem, but soldiers made no arrests, Palestinian security officials said.

Israel's Maariv newspaper reported that, while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in the U.S., troops will be ordered to dismantle eight settlements in the Gaza Strip. Sources told the paper that pictures of settlers and soldiers clashing could serve Sharon's interests while meeting with U.S. officials.

Sharon will face a major test when he returns home, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger: His ruling Likud party has set April 29 as the date for a party referendum on the prime minister's controversial plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The plan calls for dismantling 21 Jewish settlements.

The party is deeply divided over the plan because uprooting settlements contradicts traditional Likud ideology. To win the referendum, Sharon will need a strong show of support from President Bush.

The referendum among 200,000 Likud members is to be followed within days by votes in the Cabinet and in parliament. It's a gamble for Sharon; if he loses the referendum, there would be growing pressure on him to resign.

The prime minister was leaving Monday for the United States where he will meet with President Bush Wednesday to seek backing for the Gaza plan.

Sharon said Sunday that his plan would help Israel's security, improve its standing in the international community, boost the economy and lift peace efforts. "There is no doubt that this plan opens a way in the future for a process of peace," he said.

Palestinian militants claim their attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers in Gaza are driving Israel out.

With criticism of the Gaza plan mounting in Likud, Sharon appears determined to win approval as quickly as possible. On May 2, within three days of the referendum, the Cabinet is to vote on the plan, and Israeli media said parliament could hold its vote the following day.

The extent of U.S. support for the plan remains unclear. Sharon sent several senior aides to Washington over the weekend to work out final details on the agenda of the meeting.

Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they hope to win a U.S. promise that Israel would not have to withdraw fully from the West Bank under a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Israel also wants assurances that millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants will be barred from returning to Israel.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Monday that any U.S. guarantees that jeopardize final status negotiations with Israel would not be recognized by the Palestinians.

"Any guarantees to Israel that affect the final status issues...are unacceptable and will be rejected."

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Americans are resisting such assurances. Instead, he said, the Americans will say a final settlement has to be reached through negotiations.

The two teams are working on letters of understanding to be signed during the meeting, Israeli officials said.

On Sunday, Israel's Channel 10 TV reported that considerable gaps existed between the assurances the Israelis are seeking from the White House and the commitments the United States is willing to provide.

The United States has said it supports the idea of a Gaza pullout, but only as part of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan.

The road map calls for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with the final borders to be negotiated between the two sides. The plan, however, has been stalled for months amid Israeli and Palestinian violations.

The U.S. administration wants to show progress to its Arab allies in the face of mounting criticism of its handling of the crisis in Iraq. On Monday, Mr. Bush is to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian leader's first U.S. visit in two years. Later this month, Jordanian and Palestinian leaders are to meet with White House officials.

The Palestinians also demand that a Gaza pullout be part of the road map. They want a much larger withdrawal from the West Bank.

Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, said the Palestinians have relayed their concerns to American mediators. He said he had been assured that the United States will not take any steps that prejudice a final settlement.