Palestinian killed as Israel ends two-day West Bank raid
Afp, Nablus
Israeli troops yesterday shot dead a Palestinian man as the army wrapped up an extensive two-day operation in the flashpoint West Bank town of Nablus, security sources said. Taxi driver Haysam Saleh, 28, was shot dead after he jumped out of his vehicle when troops pulled it over for inspection in the centre of the northern town, Palestinian security sources said. An army spokesman said troops opened fire and identified hitting a gunman who got out of the taxi. The army said he belonged to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant group linked to president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party. The spokesman denied troops fired on the taxi driver. Dozens of Israeli troops and armoured jeeps withdrew from the Old City in the heart of historic Nablus, ending a two-day operation in which five soldiers were wounded, two seriously, in clashes and makeshift Palestinian bombings. Nine Palestinian militants were arrested and several weapon caches uncovered during the Nablus raid, the army said. Friday's death bring to 5,766 the number of people killed since the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000, most of them Palestinians, according to an AFP tally.
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Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas shakes hands with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (R) after he delivered a speech yesterday before a Meeting of the Council of the Socialist International in Geneva. Abbas asked Friday in Geneva "to isolate" the Hamas, which took the control of the Gaza Strip. PHOTO: AFP |
