Posted on 02/26/2004 10:26:57 AM PST by knighthawk
Two Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli at an industrial zone on the Gaza Strip border before being shot dead by Israeli security personnel.
The zone is a rare example of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation amid conflict.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for what it called a "martyrdom operation" at the Erez border crossing.
At least two other Israelis were wounded in the early morning clash, an Israeli security source said.
Since a woman suicide bomber from the Islamic group Hamas killed four people at Erez last month, the Israeli military has stepped up supervision over some 3,000 Palestinian workers who flock to the crossing every day.
No immediate comment was available from the military, but the Palestinian workers were sent home after the clash.
Witnesses said they heard firing in the area after the clash and saw troops searching a nearby sewage canal.
Palestinian security sources said the gunmen were believed to have used the canal to infiltrate the industrial zone.
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