Three Palestinians were injured Thursday afternoon when an Israeli helicopter launched a missile at a car in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to kill prominent Palestinian resistance fighter. Locals said the targeted man, Jamal Abu Samhadana, is a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees. The attack took place between the towns of Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip.
Late Wednesday, Israeli occupation soldiers killed five Palestinians along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, witnesses and medical sources said. The five were shot dead in two different incidents.
Israeli military sources declared the troops fired at a group of unidentified men spotted crawling near the frontier at Rafah. "The figures appeared to be either terrorists en route to an attack or arms smugglers. Our forces opened fire, hitting at least one of them," a military source said, according to Reuters.
Palestinian sources on Thursday identified four of the victims as Abd al Mueti Salama Abu Siban, 22, Walid Musaed a Tarabin, 24, Rashad Atiyyah Abu Sanima, 23, Eyad Suleiman 'Ayadh, 20.
Meanwhile, an independent presidential candidate for the Palestinian Authority blamed occupation troops on Wednesday of arresting him during a West Bank campaign trip and beating him at gunpoint.
Barghouti told Reuters he had intervened after soldiers scuffled with his aides and bodyguards in a checkpoint near Jenin. "I identified myself as a politician, but was struck with rifles and pinned to the ground," Barghouti said.
