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Shootout in West Bank casts doubt on Mideast truce

Palestinians weep over the body of Shafiq Abdel Hamad, a member of the Islamic Jihad group, at Sida village, near the West Bank city of Tulkarm yesterday. An Israel soldier was killed and another wounded in a gun battle with wanted Palestinians near Tulkarm. Palestinian residents of the village said troops entered before dawn and imposed a curfew during their search for suspects. PHOTO: EPA

An Israeli soldier and a Palestinian militant were killed in a shootout early yesterday when Israeli troops raided a village near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm hunting for militants, the army said.

The shootout came amid a marked increase in tension between the two sides in recent weeks, despite a three-month-old truce agreement that both sides hoped would signal the end of the four-and-a-half years of violence.

Residents of the Palestinian village of Sida said that Israeli troops had entered before dawn and imposed a curfew while they searched for suspects before withdrawing to the surrounding hills.

Sida was one of several villages Palestinian authorities wanted Israel to withdraw from when it handed over nearby Tulkarm to the Palestinian security forces in March.

Israel refused, saying that the villages were full of militants, including those who were behind a February suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis.

Palestinians identified the dead man as Shafiq Abdel Hamad, an Islamic Jihad militant who had been on the run since escaping from Palestinian police custody several weeks ago.

On Sunday, Israeli troops briefly entered Tulkarm itself, arresting a man they said was an Islamic Jihad militant preparing to carry out an imminent suicide bombing.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the latest Israeli operations jeopardized the truce, which has slashed the number of deaths and injuries on both sides.

"The ceasefire can't be held by one side," Erekat said. "The continuation of Israeli incursions, assassinations and arrests is seriously threatening the ... understandings."

Violence has slowly increased in recent weeks, though it is still far lower than it was during the height of the fighting over the past four-and-a-half years.

Israelis have carried out several arrest raids, and Palestinian militants have fired salvos of mortar shells and rockets into Gaza Strip settlements.

Israel pledged to turn over five West Bank towns to Palestinian security control as part of the Feb. 8 ceasefire agreement, but only Tulkarm and Jericho have been transferred.

The Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said last week that he was putting further handovers on hold until the Palestinian Authority disarmed militants in the two towns that they already control.

Israel has demanded Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas crack down on militant groups to prevent attacks on Israel. Abbas has said he preferred to use persuasion to maintain calm.

However, Abbas took a firmer tone last week, warning militants that he would use force against anyone who violated the truce.

His comments appeared aimed at the militants firing mortar and rocket barrages at Gaza settlements in recent weeks in an effort to make it appear that they are pushing Israel out of the volatile coastal strip.

Israel plans to pull out of Gaza and four West Bank settlements this summer.

Israeli military planners said recently they are proposing that the abandoned West Bank homes be turned over to Palestinian security forces for use as barracks, although the area to be vacated will remain under overall Israeli military control, security officials said.
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