OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 12 February 2003 — Israel completely sealed off the occupied territories yesterday during the Eid Al-Adha as its troops killed a Palestinian in an overnight shooting in the Gaza Strip.

The man had been wearing a bullet-proof jacket and carrying an assault rifle, an army spokesman said. In the northern West Bank, a member of the Islamic Jihad group was seriously wounded by Israeli Army fire during a search operation in the Casbah, or Old City, of Nablus, Palestinian officials said. The troops also arrested six Palestinians in the city, including members of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered all borders between the Palestinian territories and Israel sealed off to prevent attacks inside the Jewish state.

The army imposed the closure late Monday for the remainder of the Eid Al-Adha holiday, meaning thousands of Palestinians will be unable to enter Israel to work. The four-day Eid holiday is due to end on Friday.

Mofaz said it was a “necessary step” in the light of severe warnings of large-scale attacks to be carried out within Israel over the next few days.

In the West Bank town of Qalqilya, an eight-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops firing toward stone-throwers, Palestinian medical and security sources said. Four Palestinians were shot and wounded in clashes during an Israeli Army raid there.

Two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank on Monday, while the army said it had arrested three would-be bombers in raids in the West Bank, occupied by the army since last June.

Israeli security officials have long warned that Palestinian groups might be planning a spectacular attack and have drilled extensively for a Sept. 11-style strike. The security services are also preparing for a possible Iraqi missile attack should Washington send the troops it is massing in the Gulf into action against President Saddam Hussein.

US officials on Monday confirmed that the embassy in Tel Aviv is evacuating nonessential staff and diplomats’ families amid fears of regional tensions emanating from the expected showdown in the Gulf.

On the political front, Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon carried on with talks to form a new coalition following last month’s general elections. Sharon wants Labour to join him in a broad national unity government, but the center-left party has flatly refused to enter a coalition headed by the hard-liner, whose party now controls a third of the 120 seats in Parliament. (Agencies)