Israeli tank fire killed two Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip on Monday, and occupation soldiers arrested a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group on the West Bank. Meanwhile, an opinion poll indicated that Palestinians are increasingly feeling the economic pinch of their 28-month-old conflict with Israel. In the village of Abassan in the Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks fired shells and machine guns in an open area, killing two men, ages 60 and 29, and wounding four others with shrapnel and gunshots, Palestinian security officials said.

The Israeli occupation army said the shots were fired about 60 yards from a restricted border fence.

In the West Bank city of Hebron, occupation soldiers arrested Ziad Abu Hilbeh, a leader of Arafat's Fatah, a military statement said. The occupation army said he was involved in financing gunfire attacks against Israelis in the area.

Monday's poll was conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Public Opinion among 1,100 West Bank residents.

The survey indicated that support for the uprising against Israeli occupation is relatively steady at 40.6 percent, compared to 38.6 percent three months ago.

When asked how much longer they can tolerate the economic hardships of the conflict, only 18.4 percent of respondents said they could hold out for another four months, compared to 64.2 percent three months ago. The survey had an error margin of 2.9 percentage points.

Israel has imposed stringent travel bans in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the past 28 months of fighting to try to keep out Palestinian resistance. The closures and curfews have devastated the Palestinian economy.

"The results highlight the dramatic economic effects the uprising has had on Palestinian lives," said Palestinian pollster Toni Selsa.

PHOTO CAPTION

Relatives of Palestinian farmer Salem Qudeih cry and shout anti-Israeli slogans as they take his body out of the family's house during his funeral in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Younis Monday Feb. 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Khalil