A member of the Islamic group Hamas died after being shot and critically wounded in a village on the edge of Bethlehem, the third Palestinian to be killed Thursday, Palestinian medics told AFP.
Seras Al Slahat, 25, died after being shot in Doha village on the eighth day of conflict in the region, as Israel defied US demands for an immediate withdrawal from a string of West Bank towns it re-occupied after the killing of a cabinet minister.
Hamas officials said he was a member of their organization, which is fighting to liberate Palestinian land from a 34-year military occupation and tens of thousands of Israeli settlers.
Earlier in the day, a fierce shoot-out between Palestinian security forces and Israeli tanks and troops cost the lives of Wahid Abayat, a 20-year-old member of the elite Palestinian guard Force 17, and 40-year-old Ibrahim El Dibs.
Their deaths bring the toll of the 13-month Palestinian uprising to 924, including 724 Palestinians and 178 Israelis.
Israel withdrew Thursday morning from Beit Reema village near Ramallah, after killing more than 20 people there in a Wednesday dawn incursion – Albawaba.com
