Israeli troops kill Palestinian mother and son in apparent mistake, Palestinians say

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops in the West Bank village of Rajoub shot dead a Palestinian mother and her armed son overnight in what appeared to be a mix-up sparked by a feud between villagers, residents said.

They said that in the small hours of Sunday morning soldiers fired at a house on the outskirts of the village, where 20-year-old Fawzi Dwekat was standing guard with a rifle in the wake of arson attacks on the family’s cars. The youth and his 50-year-old mother Nawal were killed by shots from soldiers who apparently believed they had come across a militant hideout, neighbors said.

The military said initial reports indicated that an army patrol was shot at from a house in the village and returned fire, killing two people and wounding three. There was no immediate confirmation of the age or sex of the dead, but the army said arms and ammunition were found in the building.

On Saturday, Palestinian gunmen, including off-duty policemen, temporarily halted traffic on two major roads in the Gaza Strip, amid mounting chaos ahead of Jan. 25 Palestinian elections.

With the violence bolstering Hamas’ prospects in the legislative election, US officials warned that millions of dollars of aid could be in jeopardy if the Islamic group joins the Palestinian government. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Hamas participation in the government is not a US affair.

Israel on Sunday closed until further notice the Karni crossing, the main cargo terminal between Israel and the Gaza strip, in the wake of intelligence warnings of a planned Palestinian attack, the army said.

In unrest Saturday protesters blocked the two main north-south roads in Gaza, demanding retribution for the killing of a policeman in a drug bust a week ago.

The protesters, who included relatives and former colleagues of the dead officer, urged Abbas _ popularly known as Abu Mazen _ to impose order in Gaza. They also called for the resignation of Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, who oversees Palestinian The gunmen reopened the roads after about an hour.

Abbas has called for an end to the lawlessness, but with his security forces weakened by internal divisions and fighting with Israel, has been unable to restore order. Their ineffectiveness is driving voters away from Abbas’ Fatah Party and toward Hamas, which is running on a platform calling for clean government.

The plainclothes officers said they are members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group linked Fatah.

Al Aqsa was set up shortly after the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000, and was largely controlled by the late Yasser Arafat. Many of the recruits were members of the Fatah and the security forces.

Al Aqsa gunmen have been responsible for much of the recent violence in Gaza, including abductions of foreigners and shootouts in the streets, demanding government jobs and other favors as a payoff for fighting Israel.

Some in Fatah have urged Abbas to cancel the election until law and order is restored. Abbas has rejected the calls, saying a postponement would only intensify the chaos.

Opinion polls show Hamas in a close race with Fatah. Hamas is committed to Israel’s destruction and has been labeled a terrorist group by the United States and European Union.

A US official said Saturday that Washington would have to review its aid to the Palestinians if Hamas joins their government. President George W. Bush requested $350 million (Ð291 million) for the Palestinians last year.

The official said that under anti-terrorism laws, the US would have to make sure that no aid to the Palestinians falls into the wrong hands. Two visiting US envoys relayed the message to Abbas on Friday. The official was not authorized to discuss the issue with the media and could not be identified.

Abbas, marking his first anniversary in power on Saturday, told the Al-Jazeera satellite broadcast station that Hamas’ possible participation in the Palestinian government “is not an American issue.”

“If Hamas wants to participate in the Palestinian Authority, we have no objection to that,” he said. “The US has no right to say ’no’ because this way, Hamas must ...abide by the foundations on which the Palestinian Authority was founded, the Oslo Accords.”

Under the interim peace accords that the Palestinians and Israel signed in Oslo, Norway, in the early 1990s, groups that participate in the Palestinian government must renounce violence.

Ismail Haniye, who tops Hamas’ parliamentary list, said in a statement that he “does not rule out Hamas’ participating in the government or forming a government itself if it gets a majority in parliament.”

The US has given few details about how it would deal with a Palestinian leadership that has strong Hamas representation.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week that “there should be no place in the political process for groups or individuals who refuse to renounce terror and violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and disarm.”

Hamas’ election platform has focused primarily on internal Palestinian issues, like cleaning up government corruption and restoring law and order, though it also refers to the right to “resistance” against Israel.

Mushir Masri, a spokesman for the group in Gaza, said the US comments reflect recognition that Hamas will be a political force in Palestinian affairs.

“The world is dealing with a new reality, that Hamas is part of Palestinian reality and decision-making,” he said.

Haniye also said an unidentified founding member of the European Union told Hamas that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana did not speak for it when he warned last month that the union could halt tens of millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinians if Hamas wins the vote and doesn’t renounce violence.

In other news, crowds of Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian homes in the West Bank city of Hebron, torched an empty house and tried to force their way into the off-limits market there before Israeli security forces restrained them, media reports said.

A soldier was slightly wounded by a flying stone. No Palestinian injuries were reported.

Tensions have been high in Hebron since Israel issued orders to evacuate eight settler families from a market area they took over four years ago after Palestinian gunmen killed a 10-month-old Israeli baby.