OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 17 November — Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip and wounded another yesterday near Lod, east of Tel Aviv and not far from Ben Gurion international airport, Israeli Army radio said.
A police spokesman said the police were "acting on information concerning the risks of an attack."
They had been searching orange groves and fired on two suspects, the spokesman said. It was not immediately clear if the men were on a wanted list or were illegal workers who had tried to flee at the sight of the police. The wounded man, who was slightly hurt, had been arrested along with a third Palestinian, also from the Gaza Strip. Their Israeli employer was also arrested, the radio said.
The death brought to 972 the number of people killed since September 2000. They include 761 Palestinians and 189 Israelis.
In another incident two Israeli tanks penetrated some 400 meters into an autonomous Palestinian area at Beit Hanoun near Erez, Palestinian security sources said. Bulldozers accompanying the tanks leveled an olive grove and an orange grove over an area of three hectares, the sources said.
Israeli fire also wounded a Palestinian policeman in the neighboring village of Beit Bahia, hospital sources said. Israeli Army said troops had opened fire at suspects in response to Palestinian shooting.
Earlier, the Israelis had penetrated 200 meters into a Palestinian zone east of Gaza City, destroying a police post, Palestinian security sources said.
The position had already been evacuated after coming under Israeli fire and no casualties were reported.
Israel deployed police in Arab East Jerusalem as about 40,000 Palestinians descended on the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers. Police allowed some Palestinians from the West Bank but men below the age of 30 were barred from entering. Police on horseback dispersed dozens of Palestinian men gathered at the Damascus Gate outside the walled city. The men then regrouped and knelt in prayer on nearby streets.
Three people were hurt in scuffles when a large crowd of Palestinians was held up at an army checkpoint as they tried to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Palestinian witnesses said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that "although this is not yet a formal policy of the government of Israel, there is support for Palestinian independence, support for a Palestinian state."
An aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Peres’ comments were "meaningless" because they did not reflect the official policy of Sharon’s administration.
"Peres’ statement is meant to contain the fears of the international community about Sharon’s policy against the Palestinians," the aide, Ahmed Abdel Rahman, said.
Sharon himself has made public comments envisaging a demilitarized Palestinian state that falls far short of Palestinian aspirations.
But the mere mention of a state sets off alarm bells among Israeli right-wingers, who immediately called for Peres — a partner in Sharon’s coalition — to resign or be fired.
Meanwhile, a European Union delegation is due to hold talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders at the weekend, but an EU official said the visit was unlikely to produce a quick fix to the Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.
The United States has been under fire for not playing a bigger role in seeking peace. Israel and the Palestinians are now awaiting signals of US intentions from a policy speech which Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to make on Monday.
