A Palestinian policeman has been killed in renewed fighting between Israel and Palestinians. 23 people were injured in the clashes. In a separate development, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was reported to have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip by an Israeli tank shell which exploded in his hands.
Israel's incursion into Palestinian territories was the latest step in retaliation for the killing of Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi by the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Earlier today, Israeli forces entered Palestinian-controlled territory near the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Palestinian officials said that tanks fired shells at buildings as they moved towards the town.
The operation followed an Israeli helicopter raid on Bethlehem yesterday, during which three Palestinians were killed in an explosion. One of the victims had been sought by Israel in connection with the murder of a female Jewish settler in the Bethlehem area last month.
