Israeli forces in the West Bank have killed a Palestinian militant who allegedly had links to a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last month.
Palestinian security sources named him as Mohammad Abu Khazneh of Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed five Israelis on February 25th and punctured a ceasefire declared by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
An Israeli security source said Abu Khazneh played a central role in planning the suicide attack and was also responsible for a car bomb Israeli forces found in the West Bank on February 28th and which militants intended to use to blow up an Israeli bus.
Local residents said Abu Khazneh had been hiding in his father-in-law's home near the town of Tulkarm and refused to heed calls to surrender by Israeli soldiers who surrounded the building. Others in the house fled.
Troops sent in a dog after him and the militant shot the animal dead, an army spokesman said.
He also fired at the soldiers, who called in bulldozers that levelled the structure on top of him. Troops later recovered Abu Khazneh's body and a pistol, the spokesman added.