Israelis, Palestinians Study Mitchell Report Amid Violence

JERUSALEM, May 21 (AP)--As violence simmered in the West Bank and Gaza Monday, Israelis and Palestinians welcomed the report of a commission on stopping eight months of violence--but there was little movement on the thorny question of construction in Jewish settlements.

The commission led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell included a freeze on all such construction among its recommendations, and the Palestinians said this is a precondition to a truce. Israel, which wants to build in existing settlements to account for ``natural growth,'' insisted violence must stop first.

The violence continued on the ground, meanwhile.

Two Palestinians were killed in a clash near Gaza City after Israeli helicopters rocketed a building next to a sprawling refugee camp. Israel said the building was a mortar shell factory, but Palestinians said spare parts for cars were made there.

Israel said the two were shot while planting explosives nearby. Palestinian security officials first said they were farmers en route to their field; however, wall graffiti signed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement said they were killed in a firefight.

Palestinians also fired two mortar shells Monday toward the Jewish settlement of Netzer Hazani in Gaza. No one was hurt. In response, the army briefly crossed into Palestinian-controlled area nearby and leveled a police post.

Also Monday, an Israeli man was wounded when Palestinians opened fire on the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo in a disputed part of Jerusalem. Israeli media reports said he lost an eye. Police said three children were lightly injured as well.

Earlier Monday, U.S. ambassador Martin Indyk criticized Israel's military moves, especially Sunday's tank shelling of the home of a top West Bank security chief, Jibril Rajoub, considered among the more moderate Palestinian figures.

``Those who would stop the violence, the Palestinian police ... are being hit, bombed, shelled (and) killed by the Israeli Defense Forces,'' said Indyk. ``Maybe the strategy is to encourage them to act against their own people, but I don't imagine that there is an example in history where such strategy succeeded.''

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