An Israeli civilian was seriously injured today when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on his car in the West Bank. The man was driving between two Israeli settlements in the North of the West Bank when he came under fire near the village of Burkin, according to an Israeli military spokesman.
The spokesman also denied Palestinian allegations that the Israeli army fired rockets at the Palestinian town of Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip today. It is alleged the missiles were fired from Israeli territory. However, the Israeli spokesman said that a tank opened fire near Gaza City at Palestinians who, he said, were trying to infiltrate into Israel.
Earlier, two Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility for the suicide attack yesterday in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. At least 25 people were wounded in the attack. The two groups are Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The latter group has links to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. The claim came as thousands of people marched in Bethlehem to show their support for Mr Arafat.
Israeli warplanes today bombed Palestinian security positions in Gaza City and in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. It is thought the attacks were in retaliation for the suicide bombing. Meanwhile, Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man beside an army checkpoint near the West Bank town of Ramallah.
In a separate development, Mr Arafat said today that the United States should do more to help bring peace to the Middle East. Speaking from his headquarters in Ramallah, where he has been confined by an Israeli military blockade since early December, Mr Arafat said that the only way to end 16 months of conflict was through international pressure.
Mr Arafat declined to comment on remarks made by US President George W Bush that he was disappointed with the Palestinian leader's efforts to end the violence.
Mr Bush made his comments after meeting his foreign policy aides to discuss their response to Israel's discovery earlier this month of a shipload of weapons said to have been on its way to the Palestinians. The White House has been considering a change of policy towards the Palestinian Authority, including the possible cutting of all ties with Mr Arafat.
