A well placed source in the Southern Command, which is responsible for that area, said the 1:30 a.m. shooting followed the sighting of three Palestinian militants who planted charges in the area.
By the time they planted the bombs and the tank was ready to shoot, a patrol of three Egyptian policemen approached the international border. The soldiers mistook them for the militants and fired.
The Egyptians have recently beefed up their presence along the border with the Gaza Strip, at Israel's request, to prevent arms smuggling.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said they "expressed sorrow" to the Egyptians and launched a thorough investigation. However the investigation "is delayed at this stage until the neutralization of the explosive devices" the militants had planted.
Egypt refrained from making any official comment on the incident.
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Zaiv Boeim described the incident as "a regrettable one that led to terrible results."
Copyright 2004 by United Press International
