World Tribune.com
Back to School Sweepstakes

Blast kills Hamas, Fatah commanders meeting in house

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, November 27, 2002

RAMALLAH Ñ Palestinian sources said Israel assassinated two key Palestinian insurgents in the West Bank with a missile attack.

The sources said an Israeli missile killed the commanders of the ruling Fatah movement and the Islamic opposition Hamas group in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The two men were identified as Fatah's Imad Nasharta and Hamas's Ala Sabar, Middle East Newsline reported.

The sources said an Israeli missile fired from either a helicopter or land-based system struck the house in the Jenin refugee camp and killed the insurgents on late Tuesday.

Israeli military sources denied that the two insurgents were assassinated. They said they were apparently killed while they were assembling a bomb.

The two Palestinians, sought by Israel for months, were said to have helped direct numerous attacks against Israel in both the West Bank and inside the Jewish state. Jenin has been the launching pad for Palestinian suicide missions inside Israel.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israel's military stepped-up activity. Ten suspected Palestinian insurgents were captured overnight Wednesday and a Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops near the refugee camp of Askar outside Nablus, Palestinian sources said.

In Khan Yunis, an Israeli attack helicopter fired missiles toward a Palestinian target in the Gaza Strip. For their part, Palestinian gunners fired five mortars toward an military position near the Israeli community of Neve Dekalim in the Gaza Strip. Nobody was injured.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian insurgent was killed when his car which was filled with explosives blew up next to an Israeli army position near the Jewish settlement of Netsarim in the Gaza Strip. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine took responsibility for the attack.

In El-Bireh, outside the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian sources said Israeli troops arrested Hamas member Marwan Abu Musa in El-Bireh, suspected of recruiting suicide bombers for attacks against Israel.

Israel's military has reported increased attacks by Palestinian civilians against Israeli tanks in such cities as Jenin and Nablus. Military sources several tanks have been damaged by firebombs thrown by Palestinian youngsters.

Brig. Gen. Avigdor Klein, the military's chief armored officer, has told tank commanders that they must regard as a threat any attempt by Palestinians to climb aboard armored vehicles. Klein reprimanded an officer who did not respond to Palestinians who rushed a tank, climbed to the top and stole a military telephone. =

Print this Article Print this Article Email this article Email this article Subscribe to this Feature Free Headline Alerts
Google
Search Worldwide Web Search WorldTribune.com Search WorldTrib Archives

See current edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com

Return to World Tribune.com Front Cover

New