Israel also drew complaints from Britain by banning Palestinian
negotiators from attending a London session planned for discussing
reform in the Palestinian Authority (news
- web
sites).
The Israeli government has said it would close three Palestinian
universities in response to the attacks, but took no action Tuesday.
A splinter of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, linked to Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat (news
- web
sites)'s Fatah (news
- web
sites) movement claimed responsibility for the two bombings in
Tel Aviv, and Israel blamed Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
Though the Palestinian leadership denounced the attack, the
deadliest inside Israel since March, Israel enacted measures aimed
at Palestinian officials, banning them from leaving the country.
Britain had announced it would host Palestinian, European and
U.N. representatives at a conference Jan. 13-14 to discuss
administrative reforms in Arafat's regime. After angry exchanges,
Israel and Britain appeared to be trying to defuse the disagreement,
with Britain expressing the hope that Israel would lift the ban.
On Tuesday, Israel further tightened restrictions, saying only
Palestinian workers age 35 and over could enter Israel, the military
said. Before the current conflict erupted in September 2000, more
than 100,000 Palestinian workers crossed into Israel every day,
providing a key source of income for the West Bank and Gaza.
When the fighting began, Israel at first banned all Palestinians
from entering for security reasons, saying that would keep attackers
out of the country.
Now, only about 25,000 workers and 8,000 merchants have permits
to enter, said Ophir Chacham, spokesman for Israeli military
administration. The new ban meant that most workers with permits
would be idled.
Early Wednesday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian
taxi driver near the southern Gaza Strip (news
- web
sites) city of Khan Younis, witnesses said. They said the man
was watching Israeli tanks moving through the area when he was shot.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
In Gaza, thousands of people marched alongside the bodies of
three Palestinians killed early Tuesday in a three-hour exchange of
fire with Israeli troops conducting searches for militants near the
Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza Strip.
Troops fired at Palestinian civilians driving in a car near the
operation, killing one and injuring another, relatives of the dead
men said. The body of another Palestinian, a gunman, was found in a
nearby field, witnesses said. The identity of the third Palestinian
victim was not known.
The army said soldiers were fired at by gunmen during the
operation and returned fire, hitting the gunmen.
Near the West Bank city of Nablus, the army blew up the homes of
two senior militants, one who was killed in an attack six months ago
in which five Israelis were killed and another who allegedly helped
in that and another fatal attack, Palestinian witnesses said.
About 20 people lived in the three-story houses,the witnesses
said. The army confirmed the demolition of both homes.
