A Palestinian prisoner died Thursday and several others were wounded when a fire broke out in the Israeli Megido prison. A prisoner said that his colleagues woke up to the smell of the smoke and that the prison's administration refused to let fire fighting engines into the compound and cut off water.

According to Kuna, he added that the fire was caused by an electric malfunction and that the man killed is Rasim Abu Ghurra, a member of Fatah Movement, who was living out a five-year sentence.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian child died Thursday in Ramallah succumbing to wounds he sustained two days ago when an Israeli suspected object exploded. "Palestinian boy, Marwan Ghaleb, 13, died succumbing to wounds he sustained two days ago when he was playing with his friend in Dair Jareer village north of Ramallah and an Israeli suspected object exploded, " Palestinian medical sources reported.

"The other Palestinian boy, Saleh Abu Alawi, 11, was injured serious wounds," the medical sources added.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation troops early Thursday arrested 15 Palestinians in various West Bank areas claiming that 11 of them were members in the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.

Israeli military sources said that 11 Hamas activists were arrested in Hebron city while three other Palestinians were arrested to the east of Bethlehem city.

One more Palestinian was captured in Nablus city, the sources said, adding that all 15 were carried to Israeli detention centers awaiting interrogation.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)