A Palestinian activist was killed Friday when an explosion went off in the van he was driving in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata, witnesses said.
The victim was identified as Ahmed al-Abed from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Palestinian sources said that the blast was the result of a "work accident," adding that the al Abed had an explosives belt at the time of the blast.
Meanwhile, Israeli internal security minister Tzahi Hanegbi said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is not a military target. "Arafat is not a target," Hanegbi told reporters while in a visit to Mexico.
"We hope that the leaders of the Palestinian Authority will convince Arafat to step down or to be a president of the Palestinian Authority (in order to) allow practical forces to enhance security mechanisms," the Israeli minister said.
His comments came as an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday that Arafat asked the CIA for US guarantee that he will not have the same fate as Hamas leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. According to Maariv, Arafat was rebuffed.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
