4 Die as Israelis Raid Refugee Camp

Gaza Rocket Fire Cited by Officials

AL-BUREIJ, Gaza Strip, Jan. 6 -- Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, at least two of them civilians, during a raid on a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in which several Israeli soldiers were wounded by an antitank shell, witnesses and Palestinian officials said.

Israeli officials said the raid was in response to ongoing Palestinian rocket fire into Israel from that part of Gaza, including a Katyusha rocket that landed an unprecedented distance into Israeli territory Thursday.

Israeli tanks, bulldozers and aircraft entered the coastal territory before dawn, and the fighting continued into the late afternoon.

Gunmen wearing ski masks, and some with rocket-propelled grenade launchers or rifles slung over their shoulders, walked briskly from building to building on streets teeming with civilians, including dozens of children, throughout the fighting.

"This is making our life crazy. It never stops," said Nemer al-Mabheen, 55, as ambulances sped toward a plume of smoke rising from a nearby building. Moments later, bullets strafed the crowded streets, scattering frantic onlookers.

More than 50 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes, according to Moawia Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza. He said three civilians were killed, a woman and two boys, ages 16 and 18. Other reports indicated that two civilians were killed.

An Israeli army spokesman said five soldiers were injured, none seriously, and that at least three gunmen had been struck by Israeli fire.

Israeli forces have intensified operations in Gaza in preparation for President Bush's arrival in Israel this week. Meanwhile, Palestinian fighters have relentlessly fired Qassam rockets from Gaza, which is controlled by the radical Islamic movement Hamas, into Israeli towns. The fighters fired 17 rockets into Israel on Sunday, none causing serious injuries.

Bush's visit, the first extensive Middle East tour of his presidency, is aimed at breathing life into peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders that began in November in Annapolis, Md.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet Sunday that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had directed the army to "escalate Israel's actions" in Gaza after Palestinian fighters fired the Katyusha on Thursday. Katyusha rockets have a longer range and carry more explosives than Qassams.

Also Sunday, an Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din, published what it said was the first independent appraisal since 1990 of Israel Defense Forces military courts in the West Bank.

The report found "a series of grave defects and lapses" in the provision of due process, resulting in hearings that lasted an average of just over three minutes to extend detention, and an overall conviction rate of 99.7 percent, including plea bargains in 95 percent of more than 9,000 cases.

The rights group prepared its report by monitoring 800 hearings with a network of volunteers, conducting interviews with attorneys and judicial officials and sifting through publicly available data. The group, whose board of directors includes a former Israeli attorney general, receives funding from the British and Dutch governments.

"This is not a system that is used to outside review, and the most troubling thing about it is how many troubling things we found," said Lior Yavne, the group's research director and an author of the report.

In a written response, the Israeli army questioned the report's accuracy and understanding of legal procedures and objected to the use of anonymous sources. The army indicated that the high conviction rates stemmed in part from the courts' role in trying the most serious crimes, and it pointed to protections provided to defendants, including the right to choose a lawyer and oversight by a civilian appellate court.

"An objective look at what's happening in the military courts shows that they fill a central role in protecting human rights in the area, and we are saddened that this doesn't come across in the report," the army statement said.