On Thursday morning, a large bomb exploded next to a truck carrying foreign workers from Thailand in the Jewish settlements region of Gush Katif. There were no injuries to the passengers, but in an exchange of gunfire after the blast occupation troops killed two Palestinians who apparently detonated the bomb, Israel Radio reported.
Earlier, Israel announced its forces arrested two Hamas operatives overnight in the West Bank. One of the Palestinians was arrested when a joint force of Israeli paratroopers, armored and engineering corps stormed the neighborhood of Um Shraiya south of Ramallah, which is under Palestinian Authority control. Palestinian sources identified the detainee as Moaz Samra.
In a separate incident, occupation troops arrested another Hamas activist in the village of Atil north of the Palestinian city of Tulkarem.
Palestinian gunmen fired at an occupation outpost east of Ramallah, on Wednesday evening. Earlier on, Palestinian gunmen fired at an outpost at Tel Aras, near Nablus, and at an Israeli Border Police base near Tulkarm. There were no casualties in any one of the incidents, Israeli Army Radio reported.
Taibeh Operation
Meanwhile, the suicide bombing attack that injured two agents of Israel's Shin Beth security service in northern Israel Wednesday morning has been claimed by both Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement and the Islamic Jihad.
A Fatah official from Tulkarem, in the West Bank claimed the operation. He identified the bomber as Morad Abu Assal, 26, of the village of Anabta, near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. A short time later, the armed branch of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Qods Brigades, also claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, saying the bomber was the same person named by Fatah, AFP reported.
The Palestinian, Morad Abdul Fattah Abu Assal have a been an Israeli collaborator who had been "turned" by the Palestinians and used against his one-time handlers.
PA-U.S.
Senior Palestinian official Ahmed Qorei (Abu Ala) is to meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington on February 3, Palestinian officials told AFP.
Abu Ala, head of the Palestinian legislative council (parliament), is to leave the Palestinian territories at the end of this week headed for Washington. (albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
