bbc Saturday, 7 April, 2001, 10:45 GMT 11:45 UK

Israel troops on alert for Passover

Israeli police are on alert Israeli security forces are on high alert for the Jewish festival of Passover amid reports of new warnings by Islamic militants to set off bombs.

Thousands of soldiers, police and border police have been deployed throughout the country, ahead of the week-long holiday which starts on Saturday evening.

Overnight, Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen continued to exchange fire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

More than 30 Palestinians were reported to have been wounded on Friday, following further violent conflict between demonstrators and Israeli security forces.

Israeli radio reported that Palestinians launched three bombs overnight against the Eile Sinai settlement in the far north of the Gaza Strip.

Settlement plans

Israeli troops responded with tank shells, destroying a Palestinian border post and hitting two houses.

The Palestinian leader,Yasser Arafat, appealed to the UN Secretary-general, Kofi Annan, to intervene to protect his people.

But a hardline Israeli minister, Uzi Landau, said Israel must step up its operations.

"[We] must not restrict ourselves to attacks every three days but strike day and night," he said.

More than 450 people have already been killed during the six-month Palestinian uprising.

Palestinian anger

Also on Saturday, the Palestinian leadership reacted angrily to new settlement building plans, vowing to pursue the fight against Israeli occupation.

"Settlements are the most serious form of aggression against the Palestinian people," a statement issued after a meeting of Mr Arafat's cabinet and the executive of the Palestine Liberation Organisation said.

"We will continue to defend our land and our lives against Israeli occupation and colonisation, which are cancers," the statement added.

Islamic militants have also renewed threats to carry out bombings in Israel.

At the funeral of a leading member of Islamic Jihad, Iyyad Hardan, whose death has been blamed by the Palestinians on Israel, thousands of mourners chanted: "Islamic Jihad, we want car bombs."

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2001