The Israeli army shot dead two Palestinians Friday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said AFP.
AFP reported that Israeli soldiers shot dead a nine-year-old Palestinian boy in the West Bank.
Ubey Darraj, was dead on arrival in hospital after suffering a bullet wound in the chest caused by a heavy caliber machine-gun, hospital officials said.
Witnesses said the boy was in his family's apartment when he was shot, reported the agency.
Israeli radio had reported a gunfight between gunmen in the Palestinian run-town of town of El-Bireh and Israeli soldiers posted nearby at the Psagot Jewish settlement.
The second victim was shot dead in the Gaza Strip, said the agency.
He was described by Palestinian officials as a poor, mentally-ill vagrant.
The Israel Radio reported the Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian said to be “placing explosives.”
But an army spokesman told AFP that no bomb had been found and conceded that the action may have been a mistake.
"The soldiers saw a man who was walking with a sack. He was walking at night in an area that is a totally closed military zone," he said.
Palestinian hospital officials said the man's body was mangled, having been hit repeatedly by heavy-caliber machine-gun fire and explosive shells, said AFP.
The incident occurred on the road leading from the Karni crossing to the Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Saeb al-Ajez, head of Palestinian national security in the northern Gaza Strip, said "this was a simple, poor man, who always walked through the streets during the day and nights.
"Everyone knew him, including the Israeli army in the area. The Israelis fired on him without warning. They also shot explosive shells at him and many bullets," he told AFP.
"This man was not a danger. This is part of their policy of killing that we condemn. They have transformed Palestinian villages into military shooting zones," added al-Ajez.
There were three incidents of shooting Thursday night in the Gaza Strip, said Haaretz but no injuries were reported. These incidents came after two days of relative quiet in the Strip.
The paper reported that that clashes continued in the West Bank as shots were fired at an army post in Mt. Grizim near Nablus in the West Bank. Also, an army partol came under fire near the Kalandia refugee camp south of the West Bank city of Ramallah. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the Petah Tikva district court has extended the remand of the girlfriend of the Palestinian who detonated the explosive charge at the Mei-Ami junction on Thursday.
The terrorist, traveling in a taxi-van from Tel Aviv, set off the bomb he was carrying when the vehicle was stopped for a police spot check at the junction, reported The Jerusalem Post.
Claude Knafo, 29, from Tiberias was killed and nine other people were wounded in the blast.
Police investigators are questioning the woman, a resident Holon south of Tel Aviv, to find out more about the plans of the suspect.
The woman has denied any knowledge of his activities, according to Army Radio.
According to reports, the attacker spent the night with the woman after detonating a charge placed outside a snack-food bar in central Tel Aviv Wednesday evening.
Another man, a Jaffa resident, is also being investigated in the bombing, the report said – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)