A 53-year-old Palestinian civilian was killed today by Israeli helicopter fire in a heavy gun battle around a house where Israeli forces pinned down two gunmen near the self-rule town of Jenin in the West Bank, Palestinian hospital sources said.
Walid Saadi was killed by heavy machine-gun fire as tanks and helicopters fought a pitched battle with Palestinian gunmen pinned down in a house after attacking an Israeli army post, the medics said.
Earlier today, Israeli troops swept into a West Bank village and seized 18 activists from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah organisation, Palestinian security sources said.
About 300 soldiers entered the Palestinian village of Azzoun, southwest of the city of Nablus, before dawn and arrested the men, three of whom were also members of the Palestinian general intelligence service, the sources said.
The Israeli army declined comment. Israel has accused some members of Fatah's military wing and Palestinian security services of involvement in attacks on Israelis during a 15-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
President Arafat called for an end to all assaults on Israelis on December 16th and ordered the arrest of dozens of militants following a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks. Israel has branded the arrests a sham and has conducted a series of sweeps for militants in Palestinian areas.
In the latest raid, Israeli troops seized 18 men in a house-to-house search of Azzoun and withdrew five hours after they arrived, Palestinian security sources said. No shooting was reported.
Azzoun, which is close to a cluster of Jewish settlements, lies in an area officially under overall Israeli security control and Palestinian civil administration.
AFP