An Israeli elite police unit killed two Palestinian activists near the West Bank city of Bethlehem after a nearly two-hour standoff on Friday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said. An Israeli spokeswoman said the two Islamic Jihad members were shot and killed after they resisted arrest and opened fire on the soldiers.
Palestinian security sources and witnesses said more than 50 soldiers were involved in the operation.
They said the Palestinians were hiding in a cave outside a village east of Bethlehem when the Israeli forces surrounded them.
Early Friday, an Israeli airstrike hit a metal workshop in Gaza City, wounding two people, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli army said the strike hit a weapons manufacturing facility were rockets were made.
Elsewhere, three dead Hamas members were brought to a hospital in the West Bank town of Jenin early Friday. Palestinian security officials said it appeared one had an explosives belt strapped to his body when it accidentally went off, killing him and the other two men.
The incident occurred near the village of Deir Ghazallah, officials said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian factions rejected President Mahmoud Abbas' statement about a promise to suspend attacks on Israel. The groups denied there was a formal agreement with Abbas. He said the groups reached their accord late Wednesday during renewed talks on forming a unity government including his Fatah Party and Hamas.
Ibrahim Abu Naja, who heads the umbrella committee coordinating the talks among Palestinian factions, said a deal to renew a cease-fire had been reached. But he said the truce would depend on Israel. "All the factions asserted the need for quiet," he said. "They have agreed not to attack Israel, but we want a word from the Israelis that they will agree as well ... We are waiting for goodwill gestures from the Israelis."
