JERUSALEM (AFP) - Three Egyptian policemen mistaken for Palestinian militants were killed overnight by Israeli tank fire on the tense border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, prompting a swift apology from Israel.
Israeli military sources said troops had opened fire after spotting what were believed to be three Palestinian militants trying to lay an explosive device along the border in the Rafah region of the southern Gaza Strip.
"An IDF (army) force opened fire towards the suspicious figures, but did not identify hitting them," the army said in a statement Thursday.
"Following an initial inquiry into the incident, it appears that there were operational and professional errors that occurred due to a misidentification of the three figures, which resulted in three Egyptian policemen being hit.
"It should be noted that the Egyptian policemen were very close to the border on the other side of the fence."
A source in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said the government had already offered its apologies to Egypt and would inform Cairo of the results of an official inquiry.
"We have presented our apologies for this tragic incident to Egyptian officials and we will inform them of the results of the inquiry that we have launched," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Rafah has seen some of the deadliest fighting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and militants regularly try to plant explosive devices along the border.
Israel has regularly accused Egypt of failing to put a halt to the smuggling of weapons under the border and has demolished a large number of cross border tunnels on the Gaza side of the frontier.
Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim described it as a "regrettable incident with serious consequences."
"It is important to bear in mind that the border area where this inicident happened is often tense," he told public radio. "We have to carry out operations in a war against the Palestinians who are are smuggling in weapons."
"What has happened illustrates the vital need to increase cooperation between us and the Egyptian army which is also operating in the area.
"We have put pressure on the Egyptians to increase their efforts to put an end to the smuggling on their side but we must find ways for the two armies can act together to achieve the same objective."
An army source later said that an explosives device had been found near an army post which was being "neutralised."
Egypt is one of the few Arab countries to have diplomatic relations with Israel although ties have remained at best lukewarm since their 1979 peace treaty.
However the two sides have been coordinating closely ahead of Israel's planned pullout of troops and settlers from Gaza next years, with both keen to ensure that the territory does not become a stronghold for radical Isalmist groups.
Israel agreed last month to let Egypt step up its military presence along the Rafah border while the government in Cairo has also offered to help train Palestinian police ahead of the withdrawal.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and intelligence services chief Omar Suleiman are both due to visit on Wednesday next week.
There was no immediate comment on the shooting incident from Egypt.
In the north of Gaza meanwhile, Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman Mahmud Abbas was due to hold talks with members of the dominant Fatah faction ahead of the election to replace Yasser Arafat as leader of the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas is widely expected to be confirmed as Fatah's candidate for the January 9 election in the coming days.
The former prime minister is extending his visit after a series of meetings over the last three days with leaders of the other main Palestinian factions.
The radical Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad told Abbas they would boycott the presidential election while the the leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called for the ballot to be accompanied by a general election.
11/18/2004 - 11:38 GMT - AFP