Palestinian sources reported that Israeli troops killed a Hamas member near the Gaza Strip settlement of Dugit, Israel Radio reported Monday. According to the report the man, together with two other activists, were on their way to launch a Qassam rocket at the community.
The Israeli army detonated two rockets in a controlled explosion. The rockets had been aimed at the settlement of Nisanit, the report said. According to the Israeli army, the two other Palestinians managed to escape.
Meanwhile, Israeli Security forces on Monday night reduced the high state of alert that had been in place in central Israel, along the border with the West Bank, after they believed that two Palestinian would-be bombers had returned to the West Bank.
Earlier, the security forces were placed on high alert, following warnings of imminent bombing attack inside Israel. Large police forces were deployed in the area and roadblocks were erected between the cities of Petah Tikva and Netanya.
Israeli troops and Border Police officers have been searching both sides of the border line, near the town of Matan, since early Monday afternoon, after a Palestinian dressed in an Israeli military uniform and carrying a bag was spotted near the town, Haaretz reported.
The Israeli army has imposed a curfew on the Palestinian-controlled village of Hableh, where the Palestinian is believed to have fled. Israeli security forces assessed that the man is a would-be bomber who was planning to enter Israel in order to carry out an attack.
In another incident, an explosive device was detonated near a tank on the eastern side of the Erez checkpoint on the border with the Gaza Strip Monday afternoon, the Israeli Itim news agency reported. There was no damage to the tank and there were no injuries, the agency reported.
Elsewhere in the West Bank and for the second straight day, thousands of Palestinians defied the Israeli army's around-the-clock curfew and took to the streets of Nablus as shops and banks opened to accommodate them, AP reported.
The army, which has imposed the curfew in most West Bank cities and towns for the past 40 days, remained in armored vehicles ringing the city. But occupation troops did not enter Nablus and made no moves to drive residents off the streets and back into their homes. At the edge of the city, the soldiers allowed trucks with supplies to enter, but blocked passenger cars. Some Palestinians said troops were firing in the air over cars to turn away those approaching the city limits.
Palestinian residents under curfew in the West Bank have not previously challenged the army restrictions on a mass scale. If Nablus residents effectively lift the curfew on their own, such actions could spread to other West Bank cities, AP added.
Many Nablus residents rushed to the markets Monday, stocking up on fruits and vegetables and other necessities. The Nablus protest began Sunday when the city governor, Mahmoud Aloul and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, urged residents to defy the order. "So many of our people are suffering from hunger and others couldn't get medicine, so we have to get our rights by ourselves," Alol said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
