BBC Wednesday, 16 May, 2001, 10:09 GMT 11:09 UK

Israel 'admits error' in killing policemen

A senior Israeli official has admitted that soldiers made a mistake when they shot dead five Palestinian policemen on Monday, reports say.

The disclosure came as mourning continued for four Palestinians and one Israeli killed in a day of confrontations on Tuesday marking Palestinian protests at the creation of the Israeli state.

Palestinian security officials say Israeli troops have again entered their territory, taking over a Palestinian Authority-run dairy plant and searching houses for arms.

On the diplomatic front, the United States says it has held good and long talks with a senior Palestinian on ways to end the violence.

'Bad information'

The killing of the five Palestinian policemen was denounced at the time by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a "dirty assassination" and contributed to the violence of Tuesday's confrontations.

"The death of the five policemen was an error caused by bad information given to soldiers who took part in the operation," the official, who refused to be named, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.

The BBC's Jeremy Cooke in Jerusalem says reports of the admitted error will further add to Palestinian demands for an apology.

The head of the Israeli army, General Shaul Mofaz, has already conceded that his forces could have been in the wrong, saying that "if it appears that an error was made, we will not be ashamed to admit our mistake".

Our correspondent says it is thought that the Israeli army launched the operation believing it was attacking a unit of Force-17, a Palestinian militia group blamed for carrying out attacks against Israeli settlements and civilians.

The five men were killed in a hail of bullets on their base north of the West Bank town of Ramallah. They had recently been moved into the area from the Gaza Strip and some of them were reportedly asleep when they died.

More violence

Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said on Wednesday that Israeli troops had shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian, Mohammad Selim, who was throwing stones at the soldiers.

Palestinian officials say Israeli troops have also carried out more incursions into Palestinian territory.

A Palestinian security official told AFP that troops took over the Palestinian Authority's main dairy plant.

The plant is close to a Jewish settlement that Israel said had been hit by a Palestinian mortar shell.

Israeli troops also spent four hours searching homes in the south of the Gaza Strip, but withdrew empty handed, the Palestinian official said.

There has been no comment from the Israelis on the incursions.

'Good' talks

The fury of events in the Palestinian territories is in contrast to the measured tone of the US State Department after hosting talks with Mr Arafat's second-in-command, Mahmoud Abbas.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher described the talks as "good, long" and said they had covered all regional issues.

But the State Department said the meeting - attended by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice - only came about because Mr Abbas was in the United States for a medical checkup.

A BBC correspondent in Washington says it is clear that the US is waiting until the Palestinians do more to prevent attacks on Israelis before they will give them the kind of access to the administration that they enjoyed under President Clinton.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2001