BBC - Friday, 30 March, 2001, 18:01 GMT 19:01 UK

Battles erupt in Mid-East

The clashes were the worst for several months A heavy battle has erupted between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Ramallah amid widespread protests across Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The violence left at least four Palestinians dead and more than 90 injured, several critically.

The demonstrations followed a call by the Palestinian leadership for a "day of rage" against Israel, after one of the most violent weeks of the current intifada, or uprising.

Israeli Arabs were also holding their annual Land Day protest against the seizure of Arab land by Israel 25 years ago.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel and the Arab territories.

In Ramallah, hundreds of angry Palestinians confronted soldiers on the outskirts of the city, throwing stones and waving flags.

They burned an effigy of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and chanted their support for the Palestinian suicide bombers.

Palestinian gunmen joined the confrontation, drawing heavy Israeli fire from tank-mounted machine guns.

At least two Palestinians were shot dead during stone-throwing protests in the West Bank city of Nablus.

There was also trouble near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, where Palestinian youths threw stones and bottles at Israeli security forces.

The violence was the worst for several months and, with more Palestinians dying, their funerals are set to become another focal point for unrest.

A BBC correspondent in Jerusalem, Orla Guerin, says there is huge tension on both sides.

She says the conflict is heading for an escalation and there seems little chance of finding a way back.

Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent member of the Palestinian legislative council, said the Palestinians feel "enslaved".

She said: "They feel like a captive population, bombed and shelled on a daily basis by an Israeli population that has no regard for human life".

Week of violence

Friday's protests capped a violent week of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks that caused the deaths of three Israelis and at least 12 Palestinians.

Within Israel itself, all police leave was cancelled as Israeli Arabs marked Land Day - their annual protest against the confiscation of Arab land in 1976 during which six members of their community were killed.

This year's Land Day protests were all the more sensitive for Israeli Arabs because of clashes in October, when Israeli police turned on demonstrators, killing 13 of them.

This has made many Israeli Arabs sympathise even more deeply with the Palestinian cause.

Week of tension

The situation in Israel and the Palestinian areas was already extremely tense.

Fierce clashes erupted in the Gaza Strip on Thursday following heavy Israeli air raids on Palestinian targets.

Three Palestinians, two of them teenagers and the other a member of the security forces, were shot dead by Israeli troops.

The Israeli air raids were a response to one of the most violent weeks of the six-month Palestinian uprising. The last few days have seen three suicide bomb attacks, and the killing of three Israeli children.

On Thursday, US President George W Bush called for restraint by both Israelis and Palestinians. But he gave a particularly blunt warning to Yasser Arafat to end violence by Palestinians.

Since the Palestinian uprising or intifada started six months ago, almost 450 people have been killed - more than 360 of them Palestinians and at least 60 Israeli Jews.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001