Two killed in attack on West Bank camp
Wednesday, 1 October 2003 15:28
Palestinian medical sources have said that two men, including a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, were killed in an Israeli army raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Nablus.
Another three people are said to have been wounded during the operation in the Tulkarem camp.
The Israeli army said that Palestinian gunmen fired on them during the raid, and they returned fire.
But this has been disputed by the governor of Tulkarem, who says there was no exchange of fire and the Palestinian militant was shot as he was trying to run away.
Militant leader detained
In another development, the Israeli army has detained a leading member of the Islamic Jihad group in the West Bank.
Palestinian sources said Bassam Saadi, 42, was detained after Israeli soldiers supported by attack helicopters raided a refugee camp in the town of Jenin.
The arrest came as the Israeli cabinet approved proposals for building another section of the controversial security fence.
The fence is intended to stop Palestinian suicide bombers from entering Israel from the West Bank.
The cabinet discussions followed the publication of a United Nations report which said the barrier was illegal and tantamount to what it called an unlawful act of annexation.
The proposed new sections would enclose several large Jewish settlements.
But in a compromise, the government decided to leave a gap near the settlement of Ariel, 12 miles inside the West Bank.
