In a familiar scene of Middle East retribution, Israeli helicopters bombarded two Palestinian security targets in the West Bank early today after gunmen killed a Jewish settler overnight.
The killing and subsequent strike, from which no injuries were reported, came just hours after US President George W. Bush reaffirmed a pledge to help end 10 months of bloodshed.
Wrapping up a round of golf near his Texas ranch yesterday, Bush sought to drive home the message that Washington remained involved in Middle East peacemaking, saying he hoped sanity will prevail.
But on the ground, no one seemed to be listening.
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Mr Zohar Shurgi, from the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, as he was driving near the Jewish settlement of Ariel and the Palestinian town of Salfit.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group affiliated with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the killing.
"In response to the murderous shooting...in which an Israeli civilian was killed, the army struck Palestinian Authority targets in the town of Salfit near Palestinian-ruled Nablus in the West Bank," an army spokesman said.
Palestinian security sources said an office of the Palestinian Intelligence Service was struck as well as a makeshift outpost of Arafat's Force 17 guard unit.
The army said it also fired anti-tank missiles at a Palestinian security target in the West Bank town of Jericho following shooting on a nearby road used by Israelis.