Israeli occupation forces blew up bridges and battled Palestinian resistance men in the Gaza Strip  on Saturday in swift response to a rocket strike on a town near Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ranch days before Israel's general election. In Cairo, Palestinian resistance groups held landmark talks on Friday on an Egyptian proposal for a one-year unilateral cease-fire in attacks on Israelis, but chances of agreement in sessions expected to continue on Saturday and Sunday looked slim.

Constant violence in a 28-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood has fueled support in Israel for the tough security policies of Sharon's right-wing Likud party, forecast to romp to victory in Tuesday's parliamentary poll.

Hours after five rockets slammed into the Israeli town of Sderot, down the road from Sharon's Sycamore Ranch, an armored force pushed into Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Police said a woman was slightly injured in the Sderot attack.

At least one Palestinian was killed and 20 Palestinians were hurt in fighting during the overnight Israeli incursion, local security sources said. An occupation army spokesman said its occupation forces pulled out of Beit Hanoun early on Saturday and suffered no casualties.

The soldiers blew up four bridges that connected Beit Hanoun to Gaza City to the south. In a statement, the occupation army said the bridges were used by "terrorist cells" that launched the Qassam rockets.

"In the last year alone, more than 30 Qassam rockets and about 100 mortar bombs were fired from the vicinity of the town," the occupation army said in a statement.

Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, built on Israeli-occupied land Palestinians want for a state, have been the main target of such attacks. The international community regards such settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.

On Friday, occupation troops guarding the northern West Bank Jewish settlement of Shavei Shomron killed a Palestinian man and a woman who the occupation army said were members of a group that tried to ambush soldiers.

PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE GROUPS MEET

The first face-to-face meeting of resistance groups ranging from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah  to Islamist and Marxist groups finally took place in Cairo after a two-day delay. They were expected to go on for at least two more days, Palestinian officials said.

A draft document drawn up by Egypt outlines a one-year unilateral cease-fire regarding attacks on Israelis but upholds the Palestinians' right to resist occupation and retain Arafat as leader.

"Several ideas have been tackled, especially the need to continue the resistance, and I believe tomorrow's (Saturday's) session will be very important and decisive for all resistance groups as we will start discussing in depth one united political vision for all resistance groups," said Abu Emad al-Rifaie of Islamic Jihad.

Islamic Jihad and the resistance Hamas group, both dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, have killed dozens of Israelis in resistance bombings during the Palestinian uprising.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of Hamas, said on Thursday his group would not accept a cease-fire until Israel stopped its "killings and assaults" of Palestinians. Islamic Jihad has also rejected any cease-fire.

Only Fatah has endorsed the truce proposal so far. But Fatah's armed offshoot, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, on Thursday rejected the unilateral cease-fire under discussion.

At least 1,788 Palestinians and 698 Israelis have been killed since the revolt began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Palestinian boy with a stone in his hand waves his arms towards occupation tanks and bulldozers during an Israeli occupation army raid into the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanuo, January 24, 2003. Israeli occupation forces shot dead two Palestinians and unleashed air strikes on Friday after resistance activists killed three soldiers in a surge of bloodshed four days before Israel's general election. The swift occupation army response was likely to boost rightist Likud party Prime Minister Ariel Sharon  in Tuesday's balloting. (Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)