JERUSALEM — A Palestinian policeman was shot and killed in the Gaza Strip today, a Palestinian official said, after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged upon his return from the United States to act against Palestinian militants.
Palestinian police spokesman Bilal Salem said Israeli forces near the isolated Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom opened fire on a residential area, killing Osama Salim. Gaza hospital doctors said the 25-year-old Palestinian from the Bourej refugee camp was hit by five bullets.
The Israeli military denied that its soldiers were involved. A statement said there were no incidents of Israeli gunfire in the area Friday.
Israeli forces detained five unarmed Palestinians who tried to enter Israel overnight from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the military said.
On returning from a visit to Washington, Sharon pledged Thursday to take steps against "elements of terror," pointing to an escalation of violence while he was abroad. He said his forces would act against "those who deal in terror and support them."
Late Thursday a small bomb went off near a row of restaurants in Herzliya Pituach, near Tel Aviv. No one was injured. At first, police said criminals were responsible, but they later said it might have been a terrorist attack.
The policy of targeting Palestinian militants has been criticized by U.S. officials worried the Israel-Palestinian conflict could affect other nations in the Middle East.
In nearly six months of fighting, 433 people have been killed, including 355 Palestinians, 59 Israeli Jews and 19 others.
Palestinians say more than a dozen activists have been targeted and killed by Israeli forces since the current round of unrest erupted in late September. Israel has acknowledged some of the killings and has refused to comment on others.
Israel says the Palestinians planned the violence and set it off to win political concessions after Sharon visited a disputed holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Palestinians say it was a spontaneous outburst of anger and charge that Israel has overreacted with lethal force and collective punishment in the form of harsh travel restrictions.
In a 30-minute phone conversation with Secretary of State Colin Powell early today, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for U.S. pressure on Israel to end harsh restrictions on Palestinians, said Arafat aide Nabil Aburdeneh.
Sharon said he would continue to ease restrictions on the population of the West Bank and Gaza, while fighting the militants. He charged that Arafat's security forces are involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israelis.
Aburdeneh rejected that, charging that Israel is responsible for "increasing the cycle of violence in the region."
Though some barriers have been lifted, many Israeli roadblocks are still in place, and Palestinians are banned from entering Israel, idling about 130,000 Palestinians who used to work in Israel. The Israelis say the restrictions are to prevent militants from planting bombs and carrying out attacks.
In his talks in Washington, Sharon said he won support for his demand that all violence stop before peace negotiations resume.