Fri, May 07, 2004 - Page 6 News List

Israel announces spending curbs

EXPENSIVE CONSTRUCTION The Israeli attorney general imposed a new monitoring system on settlements after a Housing Ministry report detailed costly illegal building

AP , JERUSALEM

"This is part of the parliament's war against corruption in the Palestinian Authority," said Hassan Khreishe, the Palestinian deputy parliament speaker.

Haddad could not be reached for comment.

The Palestinian Authority has been plagued by corruption, though foreign donors have praised recent reforms.

In the West Bank village of Talouza, troops shot dead an armed Hamas fugitive, the army said. Villagers said the dead man, Einad Janajra, was the target of an Israeli raid last month but escaped, while an innocent bystander was shot dead instead.

The army later apologized for killing the man, a university lecturer.

In Gaza on Wednesday, two Palestinians were killed in fighting with the Israeli army.

Palestinian officials said one person was killed after entering an unauthorized area near the border with Israel. Originally the Palestinians said two were killed, but only one body was found. The military said soldiers opened fire on two men, hitting one.

In the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, a Palestinian security guard was killed by Israeli gunfire after dozens of youths began throwing stones at troops. One of the wounded was a news photographer working for AFP, the French news agency said.

The army said soldiers fired at gunmen. The military demolished 10 buildings, uprooted dozens of olive trees and damaged infrastructure in the area. witnesses said.

The army has stepped up activity in southern Gaza since Palestinian gunmen killed a pregnant Jewish settler and her four young daughters in an ambush there on Sunday.

Also on Wednesday, Israel released a co-founder of Hamas, Mohammed Taha, after holding him for 14 months without charges. Taha was arrested in a raid on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

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