Palestinian killed at Gaza border

24/01/2007| IslamWeb

Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian and arrested two others near the Kissufim crossing point between the south of the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday the men tried to sneak into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian security officials in Gaza said Israel had informed them of the incident, which took place early on Wednesday, and that the three men had apparently been manual labourers trying to slip into Israel to find work.

"During the night, soldiers spotted three Palestinians approaching the  security barrier [between the Gaza Strip and Israel] and fired warning shots, first into the air and then at their legs, after having ordered them in vain to stop," an Israeli military spokesman said.

He said: "The three men were not armed. One of them was killed, the two others lightly wounded. They were evacuated to a hospital in Israel and are to be questioned."

The latest death brings to 5,629 the number of people killed since the start of the intifada or uprising in September 2000, most of them Palestinians, according to a count by the AFP news agency.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians carry the body of Moussa Garmout, who was killed by Israeli troops on Monday, during his funeral in northern Gaza Strip January 15, 2007. (Reuters)