Palestinian baby killed by Zionists



GAZA CITY:

An 18-month-old Palestinian boy died yesterday after being shot in the neck as Israeli forces guarding a Jewish settlement opened fire on a southern Gaza refugee camp, Palestinian security and medical officials said.

Elian Al Bashiti was hit in the neck when Israeli soldiers manning the Gadid settlement fired on Khan Yunis, the officials said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said Palestinian gunmen in the area had twice opened fire and that troops had shot back.

Palestinian security sources said the toddler had been in his house when he was hit.

Also a Hamas activist was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian security sources said. Ahmed Judeh, 17, was shot dead by troops operating in the area.

The new bloodshed came as Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas gave a key aide broader powers yesterday to curb anti-Israel violence, loosening Yasser Arafat's security grip in line with demands by peace mediators.

An internal memorandum said Abbas authorised cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan, who has clashed with Arafat in the past, to restructure the Palestinian Authority's Interior Ministry.

The decision makes Dahlan de facto interior minister with greater control over Palestinian security services intended to rein in militant groups under a "road map" to Middle East peace, Palestinian officials said.

Earlier, Abbas proposed giving Dahlan the Interior Ministry outright, but Arafat, who is Palestinian president, rejected the idea, an official said.

"Dahlan is now carrying out the missions of a minister of the interior. He is in complete control over security agencies," an official said.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to visit the region on Saturday to promote the road map backed by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

But Powell does not plan to meet with Arafat, the US State Department said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the cornerstone of a new Jewish settlement project in the West Bank was laid at the Beit El settlement near Ramallah yesterday as part of the ceremonies commemorating the 55th anniversary of Israel's independence.

"On Israel's independence day we officially laid the first stone of a new district which will be called Ginot Beit El," Beit El council official David Shawat said.

The new project, which was started some time ago but only officially started yesterday, is to include some 72 homes and is described as a "new quarter" of Beit El.

"The construction of another district of Beit El with 40 extra dwellings will be launched from here in two or three weeks," he said.

During the cornerstone ceremony, the head of Beit El's municipal council Israel Rosenberg said the project had been started following remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the effect that Israel may dismantle some West Bank settlements within the framework of a renewed peace process.