The Israeli military Thursday isolated the Gaza Strip, declaring it a "closed military zone" to prevent Jewish extremists from going in after a series of violent incidents in recent days.

The army said in a statement that because of the violence, "the head of the southern command... signed a closure order preventing non-residents from entering the Gaza Strip."

Hours after the army sealed off the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided a hotel in the coastal area where about 150 Jewish extremists were holed up inside.

About 10 busloads of soldiers and paramilitary police went room-to-room to remove the squatters, who had barricaded themselves inside for several weeks, stockpiling food and encircling the hotel with barbed-wire.

Some left peacefully when asked, while others were dragged out by their arms and legs. No one resisted violently, but several of the squatters burned tires in protest, with smoke billowing from the Palm Beach Hotel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

The army said in a statement that because of the recent violence, "the head of the southern command... signed a closure order preventing non-residents from entering the Gaza Strip."

Jewish extremists on Wednesday clashed with both Israeli security forces and Palestinian civilians, severely wounding a Palestinian. Settlers and soldiers also clashed over the weekend.

"In the past day there has been another serious escalation of extremist activity," an army statement said. "There is intelligence information that more extremist groups are moving toward the Gaza Strip with the intention of strengthening their friends and to escalate the provocative acts."

The army sealed off the Jewish settlements, preventing residents from travelling between the towns.

Some of the extremists inside the Palm Beach Hotel belong to the outlawed Kach movement. The squatters were mostly from hard-line enclaves in the West Bank, not from Gaza settlements slated for evacuation.

Gas deal signed

Egypt and Israel yesterday signed a long-delayed US$2.5-billion agreement on sales of Egyptian natural gas to Israel, underscoring improved ties between the two countries.

Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy signed the agreement in Cairo with visiting Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who had talks earlier with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Under the 15-year deal, Egypt will sell Israel 1.7 billion cubic metres of gas a year from October 2006 a total of about 25 billion cubic metres, Israeli officials said last week. There will be an option to extend the deal a further five years.

Source: China Daily