Palestinian girls latest victims of Mideast violence

In this story: More than 440 dead in nearly six months Changes in U.S., Israeli leadership RELATED STORIES, SITES

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian gunfire apparently wounded a young Palestinian girl traveling north of Jerusalem on Wednesday in a car bearing Israeli license plates, according to Israeli police.

The girl was not seriously injured, police said. Palestinians have previously opened fire on vehicles traveling through the area of the West Bank where Wednesday's shooting took place.

Police had no further information on the incident.

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A second Palestinian girl was reportedly wounded earlier in the day in Gaza, near the Egyptian border, during a gunfight between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers.

The 5-year-old was struck in the leg by gunfire outside her school in Abasan village near Khan Younis. The Israelis said they were checking the report.

The Palestinians said another gunfight began near the border crossing at Rafah after Israeli bulldozers took out a Palestinian police post, a gas station and an olive grove.

The Israelis said the shooting began when grenades were launched at their Rafah border position.

More than 440 dead in nearly six months

The latest round of violence between Israelis and Palestinians began last September. Since then, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 370 Palestinians have been killed. Israeli officials say 61 Israeli Jews have died in the violence, along with 13 Israeli Arabs and a German citizen living in the region.

At the funeral on Wednesday of a Palestinian man killed the day before by an Israeli tank shell, the daughters of the dead man comforted their grieving mother.

"He was killed for the sake of Palestine," the daughters said.

Naim Badarin, 50, was killed at his home in Al-Bireh, West Bank, when he took advantage of a temporary lull in a gunbattle to inspect the damage to his home.

The Israelis said an Israeli tank fired a single shell at the building because Palestinian gunmen were using it as cover. The Palestinians said three shells were fired.

Changes in U.S., Israeli leadership

The violence has raged virtually unabated in the region since the defeat of left-leaning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the polls and a change in administration in the United States. Barak is still caretaking the prime ministership until his successor, right-wing Likud party chairman Ariel Sharon, forms a coalition government to take office.

Newly installed U.S. President George W. Bush's secretary of state, Colin Powell, has just completed a whirlwind tour through the Mideast to gauge the status of relations between the Israelis, the Palestinians and other Arab nations.

Talks between the two Mideast adversaries broke down last summer during a trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, and attempts to bridge the gaps between them since that time have failed.

Most recently, a last-ditch effort by outgoing U.S. President Bill Clinton to reinvigorate the crumbling process fell short, unable to engender an agreement before Bush took office or the Israeli elections were held.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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US State Department
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Israeli Prime Minister's Office
Likud
Israel Defense Forces
Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian Red Crescent

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