28 June 2004	Monday	09 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

NABLUS, June 27: Furious Palestinians called for swift revenge attacks as they paid their last respects on Sunday to seven militants, including three senior commanders, shot dead by Israeli troops in Nablus.

Around 30,000 people packed the streets of Nablus chanting demands for revenge in the heart of Israel after the killings on Saturday that were strongly condemned by Palestinian premier Ahmed Qorei.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, hailed the army's so-called Operation Full Court Press as an "impressive success in the fight against terrorism".

All schools and shops were closed in Nablus as the bodies of the seven began their journey from the city's hospital to the Martyrs' Cemetery at around 10:30 am, reports say.

Scores of masked gunmen from all the main Palestinian armed factions fired volleys into the air amid a sea of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades flags.

Among those who were being laid to rest was Nayef Abu Sharekh, the senior commander in the West Bank of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a radical offshoot of the mainstream Fatah movement.

Fadi al-Bahti, a local leader of Islamic Jihad, and Jaffer al-Masri, a commander of the armed wing of Hamas, were also being buried.

"Our revenge will be tonight," the crowds chanted in unison.

Many of the mourners went to the site of a hideout in Nablus's Old City where the seven were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops on Saturday.

Israeli forces withdrew from Nablus and a curfew was lifted at dawn on Sunday although the funerals were brought forward slightly for fear that the soldiers could soon return.-AFP