Witnesses: Israeli Tanks Shell Gaza Target.

By VOA News & IsraelNationalNews.com

Witnesses said Israeli tanks have shelled a building in eastern Gaza City in the latest strike on the Palestinian town.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the late Monday attack and the Israeli army has not commented on

The strike came hours after Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said soldiers found evidence of ties to terrorist groups during a raid at a Palestinian security compound in Gaza city early Monday. The Israeli government said the evidence proved the strong link between Palestinian Authority security services and Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Palestinians called the early Monday Israeli operation in Gaza City aggression. Israeli forces destroyed several buildings in the Palestinian compound, which was set up under the 1993 Oslo accords.

Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited Hebron, where 12 Israeli soldiers and security guards were killed in a Friday ambush. Sharon said he wants to expand the area of the divided city under Israeli control, which was recently retaken by Israeli forces. His proposed changes would uproot Palestinian homes.

Sharon says there must be "territorial continuity" between the Kiryat Arba Jewish settlement, on the edge of Hebron, and Jewish enclaves inside the city, which has 450 Jewish settlers and nearly 130,000 Palestinian residents.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio, Foreign Minister, and candidate for Likud leadership, Binyamin Netanyahu stated that, if elected Prime Minister, he would not uproot Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria or Gaza (Yesha).

The former Prime Minister also reiterated his position that PLO leader Yasir Arafat should be expelled from Israel and that a Palestinian state in Yesha is contrary to the position adopted by the Likud central committee. Netanyahu challenged the assertion that expulsion of Arafat would damage Israel's international position, saying that avoiding that possibility gives the arch-terrorist de-facto immunity.

Regarding Hebron, Netanyahu echoed Sharon in calling for increased construction and expansion of the Jewish neighborhoods in the city. Before that, the Foreign Minister emphasized, the IDF must carry out a thorough routing of the terrorist nests in Hebron.