Sisters of Ragab Barhum, who was killed during clashes with Israeli forces, mourn during his funeral in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. (AFP)

Rafah (Gaza Strip), May 20 (Reuters): Defying international fury and a rare US rebuke, Israel expanded its bloodiest Gaza Strip raid in years today after killing 41 Palestinians in three days of fighting in the Rafah refugee camp.

Tensions rose further after a Tel Aviv court convicted Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi of murder, drawing vows of defiance from a firebrand widely seen among Palestinians as a possible successor to President Yasser Arafat.

“So long as occupation continues, the Intifada (uprising) will not stop,” Barghouthi, 44, said after the verdict in a case Palestinians condemned as a show trial. “As long as Palestinian mothers are weeping, Israeli mothers will also weep.”

The UN Security Council urged an end to violence after Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians at a peaceful protest yesterday. The Council convened at the behest of Arabs incensed at what they branded a “war crime”.

Reflecting its displeasure, the US, Israel’s chief ally, allowed adoption of the UN resolution by abstaining rather than using its veto. President George W. Bush urged restraint from the Jewish state.

Senior US officials kept up pressure by making phone calls to their Israeli counterparts urging them to wrap up the three-day-old raid as quickly as possible, an Israeli political source said.

But the army, which stormed the Rafah camp after losing 13 soldiers in Gaza ambushes last week, forged ahead today.

Troops pushed into Rafah districts on the border with Egypt, where the army says it is searching for tunnels used to smuggle weapons for a Palestinian revolt since 2000.

Residents said troops knocked down a small zoo, a rare place of amusement for refugee children. Palestinian boys were seen chasing a bewildered-looking ostrich through the streets.

The army, which has demolished dozens of Rafah homes during the raid, denied flattening the zoo.

Yesterday, the army killed eight Palestinians, several of them militants.

International outrage reached a new pitch after Israeli tanks and helicopters fired toward protesters marching to demand humanitarian aid. The youngest of the dead was nine years old. Medics said more than 50 people were wounded. Troops said they did not aim to hit the rally.

Several hundred Israeli peace activists demonstrated outside the defence ministry to protest against the Rafah operation, holding signs calling for an immediate withdrawal from Gaza and a stop to the killing.

Violence in Gaza has risen since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon proposed evacuating troops and Jewish settlers in a plan backed by most Israelis and the US, but rejected by his Right-wing Likud party in a referendum this month.

Militants want to claim as a victory any Israeli pullout from Gaza, but the army is determined to smash them first.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops killed a senior Hamas militant in an exchange of fire in the town of Qalqilya.

A Tel Aviv court found Barghouthi, second in popularity only to Arafat among Palestinians, guilty of masterminding the killings of five people. But it cleared him of involvement in attacks in which more than 20 other people were killed.

Prosecutors asked for five life sentences for Barghouthi, a West Bank leader who had maintained his innocence since his 2002 arrest but expressed pride in resistance to Israeli occupation. The court reconvenes for sentencing on June 6.

Legal experts said the verdict was a blow to Israel’s bid to assign wholesale blame to Palestinian leaders for attacks carried out by militants alleged to be under their command.

But that did not stop the judges from pointing the finger at Arafat. Their written ruling charged that Barghouthi’s orders for attacks were sometimes “based on instructions” from Arafat.

Justice minister Yosef Lapid issued a threat that Israel might put Arafat on trial one day. Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah called the allegations “unfounded and baseless”. Israel accuses Arafat of having fomented suicide bombings and ambush attacks. He has denied the allegations.

Supporters said the verdict would bolster Barghouthi among Palestinians for whom he is second in popularity only to Arafat.

Legal experts called the acquittals a blow to Israel's attempt to assign wholesale blame to Palestinian leaders for violence by militants alleged to be under their control.

“The court ruled you can’t attribute criminal responsibility to political leaders of organisations for acts committed by those organisations unless (the leaders) were directly involved in those acts,” said Israeli legal commentator Moshe Negbi.

But others said the trial, which drew intense international interest, demonstrated due process of law in the Jewish state. “The fact that the judges acquitted him on several counts shows that they discussed the case thoroughly as they would any other,” Israeli justice minister Yosef Lapid said.

Prosecutors asked the court to hand down five life sentences when it reconvenes on June 6.