Israeli occupation troops killed an elderly shepherd near an internationally illegal Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and two other Palestinians in West Bank clashes on Tuesday after Washington voiced concern over Palestinian civilian casualties.
Palestinian security sources identified the dead man as Abdullah al-Ashab, 85, a shepherd from the village of al-Mughraqa, adjacent to Netzarim.

Netzarim and other internationally illegal Jewish settlements on occupied land in the Gaza Strip have been frequent targets of attacks by Palestinians during a 29-month-old uprising for statehood.

Israel drew rare U.S. criticism for an army raid in the Gaza Strip on Monday which killed eight Palestinians, including a pregnant woman crushed under the rubble of her home after occupation troops blew up a nearby house belonging to a resistance bomber's family.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw issued a statement accusing the Israeli occupation army of using indiscriminate force and said Britain's ambassador in Tel Aviv would raise its concerns.

Clashes in Jenin & Tulkarm

In the West Bank city of Jenin, undercover occupation soldiers raided an Internet cafe and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man during a gun battle, witnesses and medics said.

Witnesses said the dead man was not a resistance activist and neither were four of the six Palestinians wounded during the clash.

In Tulkarm, also in the West Bank, occupation soldiers opened fire during a stone-throwing incident, killing one man who Palestinian witnesses described as a bystander.

Jewish Settlers Fire at the Village of Asawya

Earlier on Tuesday, Jewish settlers fired at stone-throwers in the Palestinian village of Asawya near the West Bank city of Nablus, seriously wounding a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, medics said. Israeli police said they were investigating.

Village officials said the clash followed attacks on several Palestinian homes in the area on Monday night by settlers from the nearby enclave of Eli.

The occupation army reported 45 arrests of Palestinians around the West Bank over the previous 24 hours, adding to the many thousands rounded up since the start of the uprising.

At least 1,891 Palestinians and 706 Israelis have been killed since the revolt began in September 2000

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian Ayman Taha, a senior Hamas activist is evacuated to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva Monday, March 3, 2003. (AP Photo) Mar 03 10: