Four Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces

Three Palestinian resistance men were killed in a new Israeli raid against Jabalia camp for the Palestinian refugees to the north of Gaza yesterday at dawn.

The three men are Raed Abu Seif, Amin Masoud from al-Aqsa group of the Palestine national liberation movement ( Fatah), and Wael Nassar from Ezz Eddine al-Qassam group, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement ( Hamas).

One Israeli reconnaissance plane targeted the Palestinian men in Falujah area in Jabalia where four Palestinians including one pregnant woman were hit by the Israeli army bullets who opened fire indiscriminately against the area.

The Israeli raid came hours after the killing of one activist in Ezz Eddine al-Qassam group and wounding two of his colleagues as a result of the missile bombardment against Jabalia camp.

This raid also came after a short time of a media report saying that the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday issued a decision provided for decreasing the number of his forces which invaded the populated Gaza Strip since 16 days.

The Israeli decision also came following a meeting between Sharon and his defense minister Shaoul Mofaz during which it was agreed to minimize the volume of Israeli forces in Jabalia and Beit Lahia cities to avoid casualties in the lines of the Israelis. The Israeli deputy defense minister Zaef Bweim said that there is a change in the presence of the Israeli forces but the operation will continue.

The Israeli military campaign against Gaza is considered the largest since the beginning of the Intifada four years ago. Some 160 Palestinians were killed in this campaign, one quarter of them are children.