Egypt furious after Israel kills policemen

But the strength of Egyptian feeling over the killing was illustrated by a statement from Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit, which said Cairo "strongly protested and condemned" the killings and called on Egypt's charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv to make a formal protest to the Israeli government.

"Egypt, which condemns and protests this regrettable incident, calls on the Israeli authorities to carry out a swift and comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances that led to this incident," he said. "The dangerous nature of such events demands a very large degree of responsibility from the Israeli government for avoiding and preventing them from happening again."

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa calling the slayings "very disturbing," and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights issued a statement demanding a formal apology and financial compensation.

Military sources in Israel said a tank unit had begun shelling after spotting what were believed to be three Palestinian militants trying to lay explosives along the border in the Rafah region of the southern Gaza Strip.

"An army force opened fire toward the suspicious figures, but did not identify hitting them," the army said. "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."

An Egyptian police report said the shelling was followed by "indiscriminate firing from Israeli soldiers towards the area where the shell fell."

Two policemen died instantly and the third on his way to hospital, police said.

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