An Israeli settler and his son were lightly injured Monday evening in a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ofra. They continued to drive to the settlement's gates and received treatment.
Earlier Monday, another settler was seriously wounded in a shooting assault near the West Bank city of Ramallah. He was hit in the thigh and stomach and was moved by helicopter to hospital.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an organization associated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the shooting attacks.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that Israeli troops shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis. This was the third Palestinian killed on Monday.
Hamas Activist Assassination
On Monday morning, Israeli troops killed an activist of the Islamic group Hamas and a policeman in two seperate incidents. Meanwhile, Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements rejected Yasser Arafat's plea for an end to armed attacks.
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli troops killed an activist of the Islamic group Hamas during a raid in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday morning. The sources revealed an Israeli special unit shot Ya'acoub Dakedek outside his home when he tried to escape.
The Israeli army confirmed the incident and stated the troops came to arrest the Hamas member at his home in the city's Tufach neighborhood, which is under Palestinian security control. According to the statement by the Israeli army, Dakedek was involved in sending Hamas members to launch suicide attacks in Israel.
Reacting on the assassination of Dakedek, Sheikh Abdel-Majid, Hamas representative in Bethlehem said "The operation in Hebron proves there is no Israeli truce." In addition, Saed Seyam, a senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, said: "The killing of the brother in Hebron will never go without punishment. Hamas has taught us that it will never leave the killing of its people without revenge."
Mahmoud Ghazal, a prominent Hamas activist in Nablus, said: "Today the Israelis assassinated Yakoub Dakidak in Hebron. We can't accept that (Arafat's call) while Israelis are not committed to the same agreement. I think the interest of the Palestinian people is to continue the Intifada."
In a separate incident, according to Palestinian sources, Israeli troops killed Monday afternoon Munjid Salman (aged 22). Salman, a policeman, was shot while he was patrolling near the West Bank city of Nablus.
Arafat Call Rejected
Hamas, Islamic Jihad Reject Arafat CallHamas and Islamic Jihad movements rejected on Monday Yasser Arafat's plea for an end to armed attacks.
In TV interviews and manifests released in the Palestinian cities, the Islamic organizations announced that they would not act in accordance to Arafat's call to halt suicide bombings in Israel.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad called upon Palestinians to continue the armed resistance to Israeli occupation. According to Hamas manifest, Arafat and the Palestinian Authority were acting to appease Israel and the United States, and were causing a rift among the Palestinian people.
The manifest added that the Americans are the enemies of the Palestinian people and that too are a target for future attacks. Local leaders of Hamas stated the group's future actions depended on Israel's military moves against Palestinians.
Shooting Incident in the West Bank
Elsewhere, Palestinians fired at an Israeli position between Tubas and Tamoun in the northern West Bank Monday morning, reported The Jerusalem Post. No casualties were reported in this incident.
Nusseibeh Detained for Questioning
Israeli police Monday detained for questioning chief PLO official in Jerusalem Sari Nusseibeh, Palestinian lawmaker Hatem Abdel Khader, prominent Palestinian attorney Jawad Boulous, and Nusseibeh's son in a dispute over Nusseibeh's plans to hold an Islamic holiday reception for foreign consuls and local dignitaries in a hotel in Jerusalem's Old City, the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz daily reported.
Reception Banned
Fearing expansion of Palestinian claims of soverignty in Jerusalem, Israel's Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau Monday banned Sari Nusseibeh, PLO representative in Jerusalem, from holding a festive reception in the Imperial Hotel to mark the Islamic Id el-Fitr holiday, Haaretz reported.
Jerusalem Police Monday delivered Landau's instruction to the Imperial Hotel, the planned venue of the event. The right-wing minister Landau, backed by the cabinet, viewed the reception as an attempt by Nusseibeh to draw a parallel between his role and that of "Jerusalem Mayor" Ehud Olmert, radio said.
Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Jerusalem Magistrate's Court has ordered Force 17 officer Ashan Je'azi expelled from the occupied city and fined him NIS 1,000 (about US$250) for "illegally residing in Israel". The Israeli police had arrested Je'azi last Thursday, acting on documents seized during the August closure of Orient House, the building that for over a decade had served as the Palestinian headquarters in Jerusalem. Je'azi's arrest and expulsion was the latest in the Israeli police crackdown on Palestinian political activity and presence in Jerusalem. (Albawaba.com).
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
