Israeli troops shot dead Fatah activist Muhammad Subhi Naji al-Wahsh, 22, during an arrest raid in the West Bank city of Jenin early Wednesday. According to a Palestinian security source, another armed man was injured by Israeli fire in the incident
Palestinian fighters and occupation soldiers later exchanged fire near a hospital in Jenin.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday doubted the findings of an Israeli inquiry into the Gaza beach shelling on Friday. "The Israeli claim that the beach blast was caused by an explosive charge at the site sounds strange to me. I don't believe it is possible that the Palestinians planted charges in a place where civilians often spend their time," Annan told the London-based Al-Hayat daily.
Annan said he would send a representative on his behalf to the region to investigate the Palestinian claims that an Israeli shell killed the Ghalia family on the Gaza beach. Annan also called on Israel to "respect international law and human life."
On Tuesday night, Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz stated the Palestinians were not killed by an Israeli artillery shell, as had been assumed earlier. "We can say, surely, that the IDF is not responsible for the incident," Halutz told reporters in Tel Aviv. "We checked each and every shell that was fired from the sea, the air and from the artillery on the land and we found out that we can track each and every one according to a timetable and according to the accuracy of where they hit the ground."
