At least one Palestinian resistance man broke into an internationally illegal Israeli farming community late Sunday and went on a shooting rampage, killing five people. The attack came just a few hours after a car exploded nearby, killing its two Palestinian occupants in what police believed was a failed attemot at a resistance attack. Two hours after the bloodshed on the kibbutz, Israeli helicopters fired rockets into a large car repair shop in downtown Gaza City, touching off a huge fire, witnesses said. The shop was believed to be empty at the time of the attack and there were no reports of casualties.

In the shooting attack, at least one resistance man entered Kibbutz Metzer, an internationally illegal collective farming community in northern Israel, just across the border from the West Bank, shortly before midnight Sunday.

Police said more than one resistance man may have been involved based on the type and number of shell casings.

Israeli occupatio forces could not immediately locate any of the resistance men, despite a painstaking search. 

In another case, the occupation army said it arrested a 15-year-old youth from the West Bank city of Nablus who was on his way to carry out a bombing when he was caught.

Also, the occupation army arrested a man it described as a senior Hamas member who was planning an attack from the West Bank town of Hebron.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told a Cabinet meeting Sunday that Palestinian resistance men were still making frequent attempts to carry out attacks, particularly from the northern West Bank.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has condemned bombing civilians but Hamas and the Islamic Jihad say they will keep up their campaign. The two groups have carried out most of the 84 Palestinian resistance attacks over the past two years.

The developments came after a two-week manhunt that concluded with the killing Saturday of an Islamic Jihad resistance leader accused of orchestrating attacks that killed more than 30 Israelis. The occupation army said he was just one of dozens of suspected militants arrested during the sweep in Jenin, including three bombers.

The occupation army entered Jenin to search for resistance activists following an Oct. 21 resistance bombing by a pair of Islamic Jihad members who blew up their car next to a bus, killing 14 people on board.

The occupation army found and killed the man it said was responsible for that bus bombing and an earlier bus attack that killed 17 people. The resistance activist, Iyad Sawalha, was hiding in an apartment in Jenin's casbah, taking cover behind a hidden wall in a kitchen, according to Israeli occupation .

Occupation soldiers charged into the apartment building, and Sawalha threw grenades and fired at troops. Sawalha was killed after an operation that lasted five hours, and two occupation soldiers were lightly injured.

Meanwhile, Israel and the Palestinians were preparing written responses to a U.S.-backed peace initiative that calls for a provisional Palestinian state by 2003 and a permanent state in 2005.

Israeli Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar said Israel had some reservations about the plan, and would respond to the United States before the general election planned for January.

The Palestinians have said they will submit their response to U.S. envoy David Satterfield, who is to arrive in the region Monday to discuss the "roadmap" with both sides.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Palestinian police bomb squad officer inspect the rubble of a metal workshop after it was hit by Israeli helicopters in Gaza city, Monday Nov. 11, 2002. Israeli helicopters fired rockets into a large metal workshop in downtown Gaza City, touching off a large fire, witnesses said. (AP Photo/Adel Han