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Israel says killings were mistake

Peres expressed regret for the killings
Peres expressed regret for the killings  


JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli government has said that the killing of five Palestinian policemen on Sunday was a case of mistaken identity and expressed regret for their deaths.

The five who were killed were ordinary policemen, and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has called their deaths an assassination.

Raanan Gissen, a senior aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said an investigation was launched as soon as the Israelis realized that a mistake had been made.

He said Israeli troops were looking for members of Force 17, the elite Palestinian security unit, which he said had launched attacks against Israeli targets.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres expressed regret for the deaths at a West Bank checkpoint.

"About the killing of the five Palestinian policemen, I regret it very much. If it is a mistake, I'm sure it wasn't done by intention.

"Unfortunately war has its own terrible costs and mistakes, but the whole story is now being checked by the army. I would wait and see their own conclusions," Peres said.

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The chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces told a parliamentary committee it appeared the five policemen were not the "original targets" of those who carried out the attack.

A U.S. State Department official told CNN that the Bush administration is "deeply concerned about the circumstances" in which the five policemen were killed, saying it appeared to be another targeted killing of Palestinians by Israel.

"We have asked the Israelis for an explanation," the official said. "But we have yet to receive it."

Arafat, Powell to meet

In another development, Arafat will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Europe soon, the Palestinian representative to the United States has told Palestinian Radio.

And, in new violence, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said a 15-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers overnight Wednesday in Gaza.

In addition, Palestinian security officials said Israeli troops had entered Palestinian-controlled territory in Gaza with tanks twice overnight into Wednesday.

Hassan Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian representative, said in an interview from Washington that the Powell-Arafat meeting would take place within the next 10 days.

The announcement by Rahman came after Powell met with top Palestinian official Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, during a visit to Washington for medical treatment. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice also attended part of the meeting.

The meeting marked the highest level discussions between the United States and the Palestinians since Powell met with Arafat during a trip to the region in February.

Powell told a congressional committee that the United States was working to find some way to get the two sides to halt the violence and return to negotiations.

He said there were "new tools" available including a Jordanian-Egyptian peace proposal and a report from a committee chaired by former Sen. George Mitchell.







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