Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Israeli Troops Kill 3 Palestinian Gunmen in West Bank
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=F1A99E:3919ACA

Palestinian official says raid is an assassination that threatens
cease-fire, but appealed for calm





Palestinian mourners stand around bodies of Said Al-Ashkar, a
Palestinian policeman whose family is active in Islamic Jihad and Raed
Ajaj, an Islamic Jihad leader from Tulkarem, during their funeral,
Friday Israeli forces have killed three Islamic militants during a
raid in the West Bank. The raid is testing the fragile Mideast
cease-fire.

Israeli troops raided a village near the West Bank town of Tulkarem,
and surrounded the hideout of wanted Palestinian militants. The army
said two gunmen fled the building and were killed in an exchange of
fire. A third armed militant escaped, but he was tracked down hours
later and killed. All the gunmen were members of the Islamic Jihad
group.

West Bank raids have been rare since Israeli and Palestinian leaders
declared a cease-fire seven months ago. But Islamic Jihad militants
from the Tulkarem area have carried out several attacks during the
truce, including two suicide bombings. Israel withdrew from Tulkarem
as part of the cease-fire agreement, and Israeli spokesman Dore Gold
says the Palestinian Authority has not kept its commitment to disarm
terrorists.

"Until they assume responsibility and eliminate this terrorism, we
will have to take operations to defend our populace," he said.







Saeb ErekatPalestinian Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told VOA that the
raid is an assassination that threatens the cease-fire. But with the
Islamic Jihad promising revenge, Mr. Erekat appealed for calm.

"We condemn this Israeli raid," Mr. Erekat said. "It's absolutely
uncalled for. I think violence at the end of the day will breed
violence. Maintaining the cease-fire is a vital Palestinian interest
and I hope people will adhere to this. "

In another development, Palestinians crossed the Gaza border into
Egypt without Israeli supervision for the first time in 38 years. The
Palestinian Authority, which took control of Gaza after Israel pulled
out last week, opened the border crossing for urgent travel for two
days. But Israel is concerned that weapons and terrorists could be
smuggled across the border, and it still wants supervision.
International mediators are seeking a compromise.

 


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