Gunman, Israeli Settler Die in Raid

Two Palestinian gunmen infiltrated the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on Friday, killing an Israeli man as he opened his door and wounding three people inside.

One of the gunmen also was shot and killed in the attack. Troops were searching the settlement and nearby West Bank city of Hebron for the other gunman, the army said. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a leaflet distributed in Hebron.

A 4-year-old girl and two young men were slightly wounded in the home.

An additional person inside the house shot and killed one gunman, who was masked and armed with an M-16 rifle and a pistol, while the other attacker fled, the army said.

Hamas said the attack was in retaliation for Israeli military occupation of Palestinian cities. Israel says the troop deployments in seven of the eight major West Bank cities are necessary to prevent suicide bombings and other attacks.

Elsewhere Friday, thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza City in support of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

About 3,500 Palestinians filled the narrow streets with fluttering Iraqi flags and pictures of Hussein. Some chanted, “Our beloved Saddam, strike Tel Aviv!” -- reviving a slogan from the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Flanked by three guards with submachine guns, Abdulaziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader, told reporters that the march was evidence of strong Palestinian support for Iraq.

Arafat, who backed Iraq in 1991, has withheld public support for Hussein.

Still, members of his Fatah movement were among the demonstrators, and Palestinian police officers did not try to break up the rally.