JERUSALEM (AFP) - Three more Palestinians were killed even as Israel scaled down its massive offensive in northern Gaza and deployed hundreds of police reinforcements in Jerusalem for fear of violence there at the start of Ramadan.
The three, who were all members of armed factions, were killed in a pre-dawn helicopter strike on the Jabaliya refugee camp, the main focus of Israel's Operation Days of Penitence during which 127 Palestinians have been killed. The operation began on September 28.
Medical sources said one Palestinian died immediately in the Israeli strike, and the two others died later from their wounds.
Israel's deputy defense minister said on Friday that the operation, designed to put an end to Qassam rocket attacks from northern Gaza aimed at southern Israel, had now met its main objectives.
However Zeev Boim said that while the campaign was being scaled back, partly as a gesture to Palestinians at the start of the holy month, troops would not immediately leave the territory.
"We have no desire to make it difficult for the population," Boim told public radio. "The operation has met its objectives and the level of Qassam attacks has dropped considerably.
But he added "it has not been decided to put an end to the operation", Israel's deadliest since the start of the Palestinian uprising four years ago.
Army radio had said on Thursday evening, that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz had decided significantly to reduce the number of troops in Jabaliya and the nearby town of Beit Lahiya.
The violence in Gaza has cast a dark shadow over the start of Ramadan, which is being marked by Muslims in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem.
Hundreds of extra police have been drafted into Jerusalem to prevent any outbreaks of violence during tradional Friday prayers at the city's Al Aqsa mosque.
"The police presence is designed to ensure that prayers take place in a calm manner," national police spokesman Gil Kleiman told AFP.
Kleiman said more than 150,000 Muslims were expected to attend prayers at the mosque, which lies in the heart of the Old City.
There have been no specific alerts about possible outbreaks of violence at the start of the Muslim holy month, the spokesman added.
Israeli authorities on Thursday decided not to restrict access to the mosque, despite what they said initially were safety fears over continuing repair work.
The decision came after national police chief Moshe Karadi and colleague Ilan Franco, who oversees the Jerusalem district, visited the compound to inspect the work on an underground prayer room and planned security measures.
The mosque compound, which is called al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) by Muslims, shelters the Dome of the Rock (Omar Mosque) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The site is also revered by Jews as the site of the Jewish temple, the holiest shrine in Judaism, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.