Several Israeli tanks and bulldozers are reported to have pushed into the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip this evening, leading to heavy shooting. US and British security experts have meanwhile begun talks with Palestinian officials in Ramallah on a US-brokered plan to lift the month-long siege on Yasser Arafat's West Bank compound.
Under the agreement, Israel has accepted a plan to free the Palestinian leader from a month-long siege at his office. In exchange, Mr Arafat agreed to place the six men, who are trapped with him, under international custody in a Palestinian prison. Four of the six are wanted for the murder of Israel's right-wing Tourism Minister, Rehavam Zeevi.
Israeli troops were earlier reported to have killed nine Palestinians after entering the divided West Bank city of Hebron. The Israeli army said that it was responding to a series of attacks it believed originated from the Hebron area, including a raid at a nearby Jewish settlement on Saturday, in which four Israelis were killed.
