Israeli troops killed two Palestinian Authority intelligence officers early Tuesday morning in the West Bank town of Halhoul, north of Hebron. The incident took place as soldiers were searching for wanted activists, Israeli media sources reported. One wanted Palestinan was detained.
The head of the PA intelligence in Halhoul was among the dead.
Earlier, the Israeli army said its soldiers arrested armed Palestinians en route to committing an attack in Israel.
The soldiers were patrolling the "seam" between Israel and the West Bank when they spotted a suspicious car near Nazlat-Issa, north of Tulkarem. Upon searching the car, they found two Kalashnikov rifles and five cartridges of ammunition, arresting the car's eight occupants, Haaretz reported.
They later discovered that at least two of the passengers had been planning to enter Israel to carry out a shooting attack, according to the Israeli report.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense committee Monday that "if there is not a feeling that we are moving toward a diplomatic solution, we will see a return of the terrible terror attacks - as bad or worse than we have known in the past - within a few weeks." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
