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More Killings Occur in West Bank, Gaza Strip
More shooting and killings occurred on Tuesday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, marking the escalation of violence and conflict despite Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement of cease-fire a week ago.
Two Palestinians carried out a suicide bombing attack against Israeli army near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing the two Palestinians and an Israeli solider.
The Palestinians attempted to kill Israeli troops in a checkpoint near Khan Yunis, who opened fire and the Palestinians blew themselves up near the checkpoint, killing the Israeli soldier, witness said.
In the West Bank, Israeli gunmen shot dead Ahmed Ihleile, a 20- year-old Palestinian, and wounded three other Palestinians near an Israeli army checkpoint near Jericho, a Palestinian security official said.
The shooting was carried out by an Israeli undercover unit and Ihleile was killed and the others wounded when they were sitting in a car some 200 meters from the checkpoint, the official added.
"They (the Israeli gunmen) opened fire without any justification," he said, adding that the shooting showed that the Israeli call for a cease-fire was rhetoric intended to mislead world opinion.
One Israeli woman was killed and four other Israelis injured on Tuesday in a shooting incident, which took place near the West Bank settlement of Neve Daniel, on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
The five Israelis were traveling in a car, which was apparently targeted by Palestinian assailants, the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that among the four, one was in a critical condition while three others sustained light injuries.
Following the incident, the tunnel road connecting Jerusalem and Gush Etzion in the southwest of Bethlehem was closed to traffic.
Early Tuesday, Gilad Zer, an Israeli security officer of the regional council of Shomron, was shot and killed while driving in the area east of the settlement of Kedumin near the West bank city of Nablus.
Zer, who was seriously wounded two months ago when gunmen fired on his car in the south of Nablus, was shot in the head and died of his wounds on the way to a hospital.
Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the killing of Zer was a revenge for what they said the assassination of a Fatah activist in Nablus last week.
A group calling itself the "Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade" released a statement in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that the attack had been carried out by a wing of the Palestinian mainstream Fatah, led by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
In the Gaza Strip, five Palestinian policemen were also wounded Tuesday when an Israeli tank fired at their position near the isolated settlement of Netzarim.
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