TEL AVIV Ñ Israel has captured a leading Palestinian insurgent
aligned with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
But an Islamic insurgent targeted in the Gaza Strip escaped
assassination.
Majid Al Masri, commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was captured
near the West Bank city of Nablus. Al Masri was said to have directed
numerous attacks against Israeli civilian targets, the latest of which was
in the northern town of Bet Shean last week in which six people were killed.
Al Masri, a former PA police official, was on Israel's wanted list for
more than two years. He also served as a spokesman for Al Aqsa. In all, 10
Palestinians were captured overnight in the West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, two Israeli AH-64A Apache attack helicopters fired
three anti-tank missiles toward a car in the Jebalya refugee camp in an
attempt to assassinate a leader of the Islamic Jihad. He was identified as
Miqlid Hmeid.
Hmeid escaped with light injuries, Palestinian sources said, and was
treated at a nearby hospital. Three Palestinians were injured.
In northern Israel, police closed major roads and bolstered forces amid
an alert of Palestinian suicide attackers. Officials said the measure
prevented a Palestinian attack. They did not elaborate.
On Thursday, Israeli troops withdrew from Jenin. Israeli sources said a
16 year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire when he jumped on an
armored truck and 10 others, mostly schoolchildren, were injured in clashes
with the army. Israeli troops arrested two senior Islamic Jihad members,
Murad Hassani and Muhammad Aakel as well as seven other suspected
Palestinian insurgents.
