The US has said that it had evidence linking an arms shipment caught by Israelis this week to the Palestinian Authority. The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, indicated, however, that the evidence did not link the shipment to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Mr Powell made his comments to reporters in Washington. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, accuses Mr Arafat of ordering the arms. The Palestinian Authority denied any link.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and bulldozers have destroyed 73 houses in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, according to the town's governor. The move follows the killing of four Israeli soldiers by Hamas militants from the Rafah area yesterday morning.
The Israeli army said that its forces came under fire from grenades and automatic weapons during the operation, but there have been no reports of injuries.
