Israeli soldiers came under heavy gunfire from a Palestinian security position west of Ramallah early Wednesday, triggering an exchange of fire during which a Palestinian policeman was injured, according to Israeli press reports.
When the barrage of Palestinian gunfire became too great, a tank fired a shell at the source of the gunfire, said the Jerusalem Post.
Palestinian security sources told Haaretz that Israeli tanks fired at least four rounds at a base belonging to Force 17, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's special guards. They said at least one policeman was wounded.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces near the Bitounia bypass road came under fire from a Palestinian police post.
"The forces shot at the source of the fire. A heavy exchange of shooting erupted during which several tank shells were fired," the statement said.
The sounds of tank rounds exploding and the crackle of gunfire rang out through the streets of Ramallah, keeping many residents awake, said the paper.
The army denied a report from a Palestinian security source that its tanks had briefly entered an area under full Palestinian control during the gun battle, according to the daily.
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen also exchanged heavy fire in several parts of the Gaza Strip, said the paper.
A Palestinian security source said Israeli troops started the shooting. The Israeli army said soldiers were responding to Palestinian gunfire.
Quoting a report by the Israeli Radio, Haaretz said that a gun battle near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in Gaza was so fierce that settlers took cover in bomb shelters for the first time in three months of almost nightly exchanges of fire, said the daily -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
