Five die in gunmen's attack on poll station

At least five Israelis were killed and more than 30 were wounded yesterday when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on voters in the Likud Party leadership contest in the northern town of Beit She'an. The gunmen also sprayed a nearby bus station.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which has links with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility – which may mean the end of an undeclared ceasefire under which parts of the group were believed to have halted attacks inside Israel.

The shootings happened at about 3.20pm local time (1.20pm GMT). The local mayor, Pini Kabalo, said the gunmen first attacked the bus station, and moved to the local Likud Party headquarters when they saw the crowds there. A police official, Colonel Danny Koffler, said the gunmen drove straight up to the party building in a stolen white Mazda, threw grenades, and opened fire.

Gilit Cohen, who lives near the scene of the shooting, told Israeli Army Radio: "I opened the window and I simply saw the terrorist standing, smiling, laughing and shooting in all directions. He simply shot and shot and shot, and he didn't stop. People were fleeing and falling."

The two gunmen were shot dead, apparently by an off-duty officer from the Israeli Border Police, who grabbed his gun and ran to the scene. Some eyewitnesses said they saw a third gunman, and police were still searching the area last night.

Three of the injured were sons of the former foreign minister David Levy, who were involved in the Likud ballot.

Mr Sharon, who was well ahead of his rival Binyamin Netanyahu in the polls and widely expected to win yesterday's leadership contest, said in a televised address: "Terror is trying to frighten the voters. It doesn't matter who you support, don't allow terror to frighten you. Go and vote! Go and vote!

"I call on the Likud members to go and vote. We won't allow the murderers to ruin our lives." There had earlier been speculation that the Likud Party would postpone the leadership election.

Mr Sharon accused the Palestinians and governments of Arab countries of trying to influence the Israeli elections and get a government to their liking, but refused to elaborate.

Mr Arafat's Palestinian Authority said: "We strongly condemn the operation in Beit She'an against Israeli civilians... This operation will not help the Palestinian people and its cause".

The al-Aqsa Brigades said the shootings were in revenge for the death of the group's local leader and a commander in Jenin earlier this week (Beit She'an is close to Jenin). The two men died in an explosion which Palestinian militants said was caused by an Israeli missile strike. The Israeli army denied it had anything to do with the men's deaths – it has a stated policy of assassinating militant leaders, and usually admits when it has killed them.

The al-Aqsa Brigades were widely believed to have agreed a temporary halt to attacks inside Israel, under pressure from the Palestinian leadership, but not the Occupied Territories – although al-Aqsa militants claimed responsibility for the murder of five people, including two children, in a kibbutz earlier this month.

¿ A four-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday as he stood near a window in his house. Palestinian doctors said the child, Abbas Attrash, was hit in the stomach by a bullet fired by Israeli troops. Israeli military officials maintain that the boy was hit by fragments of a bomb thrown at troops.