An Israeli soldier has been wounded as Palestinian resistance fighters launched several attacks in response to the killing of a Palestinian 10-years old schoolgirl.

Targeting an Israeli military base near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Aljazeera has learned that one soldier was injured in the attack.

Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for two of the three attacks in which five mortar shells were also fired at the illegal Neve Dekalim settlement in occupied Gaza Strip.

The National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), has also claimed responsibility for firing two rockets at the Neve Dekalim colony in response to the killing of Nuran.

The operations follow the killing of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in an UN-run school on Monday.

Witnesses said Nuran Did was lining up with classmates to enter the school when she was shot from the Israeli occupation force's Termit post, some 900m away.

Security talks

The attacks came as Palestinian and Israeli security officials ended talks on handing over security matters in the West Bank to the Palestinian side.

Former Palestinian security minister Muhammad Dahlan met Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz late on Monday for talks on the planned transfer of security control in several West Bank towns, reaching no agreement.

During the four-hour meeting that ended early on Tuesday, the Palestinians tried to convince Israel of the need to withdraw from the West Bank, not just select cities.

As well as discussing the proposed pullout from four West Bank towns - Ramallah, Jericho, Tulkarim and Qalqilya - Dahlan also discussed a halt to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, including arrests and targeted killings of fighters.

Hatim Abd al-Qadir, a member of Fatah's Supreme Committee, told Aljazeera: "It seems there is an initial agreement on an Israeli withdrawal from some Palestinian cities and removal of some checkpoints in Palestinian areas.

"Officials have also discussed the release of some Palestinian prisoners, according to Palestinian, not Israeli, criteria.

"There are some positive steps so far, but they are only statements, nothing has happened on the ground yet. We are now waiting for practical Israeli procedures and steps, responding to the Palestinian efforts," he added.

Practical steps

The two men met in a hotel in the coastal city of Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv, after a first round of talks on Saturday.

At the outset of the meeting, Mofaz demanded that Dahlan ensure the Palestinian Authority take immediate action to stop the ongoing firing of mortar shells and Qassam rockets, army radio reported, citing a senior defence source.

Commenting on the transfer of security control in the West Bank, the source said it was likely to take place in stages.

Abd al-Qadir added: "This is absolutely not the final meeting. There will be more meetings to organise more practical steps, so Israel can meet its commitments and halt all kinds of aggression against the Palestinians."

PHOTO CAPTION

The mother of Nuran Deaba, 10, mourns over her daughter's body in southern Gaza Stip town of Rafah. Deaba was shot dead by Israeli troops at a United Nations-run school in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah (AFP)