In rapidly escalating violence just two weeks before Israel's general election, seven Palestinians, two other Arab attackers and two Israelis were killed in raids and infiltrations in a 24-hour period. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was evasive when asked about reports that he is planning to step up strikes against Palestinian activists. Mofaz said Israel is facing a growing wave of terror, but that there would be "nothing very much out of the ordinary" in Israel's response.

Palestinian officials have accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon  of escalating military action to deflect attention from corruption allegations that have been hurting his re-election bid. Two Israeli opinion polls indicated Monday that Sharon's Likud party is recovering somewhat from a monthlong drop in support.

Palestinian parliamentary speaker Ahmed Qureia said Israel prevented him Monday from traveling to Ramallah to open a session of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He said he asked to cross two military checkpoints between his hometown of Abu Dis and Ramallah but did not receive authorization.

"This is a continuation of the Israeli policy to implement the apartheid system and isolate the Palestinian people from each other," Qureia said. "This is also an indicator of the Israeli intention to paralyze the Palestinian Authority  and destroy it completely."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yonatan Peled said he was not aware of a specific request by Qureia to travel to Ramallah, but the ban is in line with a Cabinet decision last week to limit travel by Palestinian officials as part of Israel's response to resistance bombings in Tel Aviv that killed 23 people.

Israel's Cabinet decided last week to limit travel by Palestinian officials as part of its response to resistance bombings in Tel Aviv that killed 23 people.

In two shooting attacks late Sunday, an Israeli civilian and a soldier were killed.

One attack targeted the village of Gadish, in Israel's north, just 2 1/2 miles from the West Bank. Just after nightfall, two Palestinian resistance men sneaked in and killed a 48-year-old Israeli man. One of the attackers was run over by an Israeli occupation army officer, and the second was killed in a shootout. The resistance Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

It was the second infiltration in the area this month. Residents have been building their own fence on the line with the West Bank, criticizing the Israeli government for moving too slowly in erecting a security barrier.

The Israeli government decided last April to fence off the West Bank, but only a few miles of fence have been completed so far. Sharon's main rival, dovish Amram Mitzna of Labor, criticizes Sharon for the slow pace of construction and pledges to draw Israel's border unilaterally if necessary.

Also late Sunday, two infiltrators sneaked across the usually calm Israeli-Egyptian border, barren desert land south of the Gaza Strip . The military said a patrol came across the three and exchanged fire with them, killing two. An Israeli soldier was also killed.

The Israeli occupation army commander in the area, Brig. Gen. Shmuel Zakai, said it was not immediately clear whether the resistance men were Egyptians or Palestinians. He said it was the sixth incursion in the past year.

Earlier Sunday, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at two vehicles between the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, aiming for Hamas activists. Instead, the missile explosions killed two Palestinian teenagers walking nearby, and seriously wounded a third.

Also in Gaza on Sunday, Israeli occupation soldiers killed a Palestinian resistance men during a fierce gun battle that erupted when occupation forces raided the Khan Younis refugee camp. In another Gaza operation, occupation troops killed a Palestinian who they said fired on them but who Palestinians said was an unarmed bystander.

In the West Bank town of Hebron, Israeli civilian security guards killed a Hamas activist who fired on their gas tanker.
Israel's security Cabinet decided to step up what it calls "targeted killings" of suspected Palestinian activists in response to last weeks resistance attacks in Tel Aviv.

The scandals have narrowed Sharon's once comfortable lead, raising the possibility that he might not win re-election. Polls published last week showed Likud dropping from a strong November lead of 40 seats in the 120-member parliament to less than 30.

But a decision last week by Judge Mishael Cheshin to halt Sharon's news conference, which he said violated an Israeli law forbidding election propaganda in the weeks just before the vote, appeared to rally Likud voters behind their leader.

In a Dahaf Institute poll published in Monday's Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Sharon's Likud rose from 28 seats to between 32-33 seats. At the same time, the poll showed Labor dropping from between 21-22 seats to 20. The poll's margin of error is 4 percentage points .

A New Wave poll published in the Maariv newspaper had similar results, with Sharon winning 32 parliamentary seats compared to last week's 30. The Labor Party, which had 22 seats in the last poll, dropped to 20. The poll's margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Palestinian resistance man of Abdel Latif Wadi during his funeral in Khan Younis southern Gaza Strip , Sunday Jan. 12, 2003. Wadi was shot dead during exchanges of fire when Israeli occupation troops raided Khan Younis destroying houses and several metal workshops they allege were used for making weapons. Fourteen Palestinians were wounded in exchanges of fire, Israeli occupation army said. (AP Photo/Yakoub Galow