Israel Kills Two Palestinians; American School Hit Last Updated: November 19, 2001 10:56 AM ET

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - The Israeli army killed two armed Palestinians and an American school in Gaza was damaged in violence that flared ahead of a Middle East policy speech on Monday by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Palestinian security officials identified the two men as policemen and said Israel killed them in cold blood. The army said they were gunmen shot dead as they embarked on an attack on a Jewish settlement.

The new round of recriminations erupted before Powell was due to set out for the first time the Bush administration's vision for ending nearly 14 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

During the shooting incident late Sunday, which included an Israeli incursion into the town of Beit Layhia, a private American school with a U.S. flag flying over the building was damaged by tank shells and machinegun fire, witnesses said.

"The force identified a cell of armed terrorists in a Palestinian Authority area adjacent to the settlement of Dugit, opened fire on them, ambushed the terrorists and killed them," the army said.

But a Palestinian policeman told Reuters he had seen two officers wounded by a tank shell while on a routine patrol and that Israeli troops had dragged them away.

"I could see a movement ... I think the two were alive," said the policeman, who declined to be named.

He said he later watched from about a distance of 100 meters (yards) as an army vehicle drove over them. The incident happened shortly before midnight.

Major-General Abdel-Razek al-Majaydeh, Palestinian public security chief, said Israeli troops shot the men dead as they lay wounded, before the vehicle ran over their bodies. But the policeman who witnessed the incident was unable to confirm that.

Majaydeh said they were killed "in cold blood" and added: "We hold the Israeli government responsible for this murder."

A Reuters witness saw the badly mangled corpses and said one of the men's heads had been nearly flattened.

Pathologist Abdel-Razak al-Masri said he believed the injuries were caused by a tank shell and that a heavy vehicle ran over the upper part of the bodies, but he could not be sure they were alive at the time.

ARMY DENIAL

Army spokesman Jacob Dallal said two men armed with assault rifles and knives were killed by tank fire when an Israeli force spotted them in the area near the settlement of Dugit.

He said they were gunmen on a mission to penetrate the settlement's defenses, and denied the army killed wounded men or that a vehicle drove over their bodies. "What happened was the tank shell hit them," he told Reuters.

The local American School was hit by several tank shells, but the army denied it had fired in the area. Its pupils are children of well-to-do Palestinians and foreign workers in Gaza. No classes were in session during the night-time violence.

In a separate incident, the army said it arrested Abed Rabbo Abu Khoussa, a senior member of the militant group Hamas, in a raid on his home in the Gaza Strip. The radio reported that he was considered one of the founders of Hamas's military wing.

The United States has been pressing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to crack down on militants responsible for attacks against Israelis during the uprising against occupation.

NO "SURPRISES"

Powell was due to lay out the Middle East strategy of an administration that until recently had shied away from involvement in peacemaking efforts.

Both sides were expected to look for signals on how President Bush plans to deal with the conflict.

Israeli media reports forecast that Powell would challenge as unrealistic Sharon's oft-stated demand for a complete cessation of violence for seven days before the truce-to-talks blueprint is put into motion.

"That is our position, and it is going to be our position in the future," Sharon told a news conference after talks Sunday with a European Union delegation. "We don't mean a reduction (in violence), but a halt."

In Washington, Powell said he was in no position to waive Sharon's condition.

"I didn't impose the seven days, so therefore, I can't waive it. We'll have to see how Mr. Sharon reacts to my speech and whatever actions he might take," Powell told ABC's "This Week."

Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat responded to Sharon's remarks by accusing him of aiming to destroy the peace process and the Palestinian Authority.

Powell said he would not introduce a new Middle East peace plan in his address.

At least 709 Palestinians and 188 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September 2000.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001