Israelis kill 2 Palestinians, wound 1

Israel observed its independence day amid the violence.
NABLUS, West Bank (AP) -- Israeli troops killed two Palestinians and seriously wounded a third in a gunbattle in a West Bank refugee camp today.
The dead were members of the Islamic militant group Hamas, Palestinian security officials said. The wounded man was removed by troops from a Palestinian ambulance and taken to an Israeli hospital, witnesses said. It remained unclear whether he was a bystander.
The incident took place during a raid of the Tulkarem refugee camp.
In the Gaza Strip, the body of a third Palestinian was found early today near the scene of a late night explosion. Security officials initially said two Palestinians died in the blast near the border fence with Israel, on the edge of the Mughazi refugee camp.
Palestinian reports said the three were killed when a rocket they were setting up exploded prematurely. However, Palestinian security officials said they also heard the sound of machine gun fire after the blast. The Israeli military said it had no forces in the area.
Boy shot dead
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, a 14-year-old boy died of injuries sustained during clashes with Israeli soldiers earlier this month. The boy had participated in a stone-throwing protest, in response to Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, and was shot in the head by soldiers.
The violence came as Israel marked its independence day with fireworks and festivals, while imposing strict travel bans on the Palestinians. In the West Bank, most Palestinians were confined to their communities.
The main independence day ceremony in Jerusalem was marred by disagreement over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral "disengagement" plan, which includes a withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements in the first stage.
Less than a week before Sharon's Likud Party votes on the plan, Parliament Speaker Reuven Rivlin of Likud used the ceremony to express his opposition.
Kindling a torch to symbolize the holiday, Rivlin dedicated it to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, "those who settle the land of our fathers," naming Kfar Darom, an isolated, embattled Gaza settlement slated for evacuation.
Opponents of change
Rivlin's opposition to the Gaza withdrawal indicates the extent of grumbling among party members. Sharon and his party were for decades the backbone of the settlement movement, and many party faithful have difficulty accepting the change.
Sharon has said he wants to reduce friction with the Palestinians in the absence of progress toward a peace accord.
Polls show a close race. After first pledging to honor the results, Sharon has been backtracking, saying he would bring the plan before the Cabinet and parliament, whatever the outcome.
Sharon said in a holiday interview on Israel TV, broadcast Monday, that he is confident that by this time next year, "we will be in the midst of disengagement from Gaza."
"This is good for Israel, good for Israel's security, good for the economy and good for peace, which I believe will come one day," he said.
Palestinians suspect Sharon's real agenda is to trade Gaza for a permanent hold on most of the West Bank, where 90 percent of Israeli settlers live. Palestinians claim both territories for a state.
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