Israeli soldiers gun down three Palestinians


NABLUS: Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinians early yesterday as violence flared again in the troubled West Bank town of Nablus just hours after a pullback by the army.
Meanwhile on the diplomatic front, reports – denied by Tripoli – said Israel had made contacts with Libya in an apparent bid to forge full diplomatic relations.
Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops in Nablus overnight, Palestinian security sources said, naming one as Ibrahim Attari, a member of the radical Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.
Another Palestinian, Abdelafu Qassas, was also killed, they said.
Israeli sources confirmed both deaths, saying Attari had been killed after brandishing a pistol at soldiers, while Qassas had been shot while hiding in a bush.
Troops wound down a lengthy operation in Nablus on Tuesday with some 50 armoured vehicles seen pulling out of the town centre. But the army insisted it would continue operations against the “terrorist infrastructure” when necessary.
Six Palestinians were killed during the 11-day operation to round up wanted militants.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, Hisham Khrewesh, a 20-year-old member of the radical Hamas movement, was shot dead during a shootout with Israeli troops in Tulkarem refugee camp.
An army spokesman confirmed Khrewesh’s death, saying he had shot at troops who returned fire.
The latest deaths brought the toll from the nearly 40-month-old Palestinian uprising to 3,692 people killed, including 2,766 Palestinians and 860 Israelis.
Palestinian sources said troops in Jenin arrested Muntasser Abu Ghalyun, a local Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades leader, and Dib Horani, a correspondent from Lebanon’s Al Manar television station.
Troops also arrested 25 other Palestinians overnight on suspicion of involvement in “terrorism”, the army said.
Fatah offial Ahmad Ghoney warned the ongoing Israeli operations were sabotaging Palestinian efforts “to convince the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades to accept a cease-fire”.
And negotiations minister Saeb Erakat said the latest violence proved that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government was trying to wreck the peace process.
“The Israeli aggression, especially its assassination policy and the incursions, is part of a military plan by the government which aims to destroy any chance of applying the peace process and implementation of the roadmap,” he said. “Israel must take responsibility for the outcome of this escalation.”
Meanwhile, hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and another of its traditional enemies, Libya, rose yesterday after reports of direct contacts.
Diplomatic sources said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom’s chief political advisor Ron Prosor met an unnamed Libyan foreign ministry official in Paris late last month for talks about the prospect of forging diplomatic ties. The foreign ministry said Israel was pursuing efforts to establish diplomatic relations with Libya and other Arab countries, but did not confirm the Paris talks.
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Hassuna Shawsh denied any meeting. “Libyan authorities have looked into these reports and found nothing to them,” he told the state news agency JANA. – AFP


photo:Palestinians carry the body of Aboud Kasas, a supporter of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, who was killed overnight during an Israeli army raid in Nablus yesterday. – AP
Last update on: 8-1-2004