Israeli policemen killed a Palestinian driver Sunday morning near the A-Ram roadblock north of Jerusalem. The
driver - Sulmian Abu-Aliya, who is from a refugee camp in Jericho - drove through the roadblock, and police said they
thought he was trying to run over a police officer.
Palestinian sources said Israeli police fired at Abu-Aliya while inspecting his car, after the latter passed through the roadblock. Abu-Aliya died of his wounds a short time after being shot. Palestinians started throwing rocks at the police after the shooting.
Meanwhile, Palestinian activists detained after they refused an order to leave Yasser Arafat's West Bank compound will be released, a leader of them said Sunday morning.
Kamal Ghneim, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, told the AP his men would be allowed to remain and would agree to uphold a truce halting attacks on Israelis.
Arafat’s guards and Palestinian troops imprisoned a group of Fatah members in his HQ on Friday, in what the media reported was to facilitate Israel's withdrawal from Ramallah and removing the siege on Arafat.
The arrest of the 17 men, who appear on Israel's wanted list, followed an agreement between Arafat and Palestinian Public Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan to transfer them to Jericho, in coordination with Israel and the United States.
Arafat made it clear to the prisoners, who refused to be transferred and were locked in one room, that they could no longer remain there and could either go to Jericho or to Ramallah, where they would be exposed to Israeli troops.
Earlier Sunday, the Fatah leadership rejected the statement released Saturday in the name of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in which the Brigades threatened to quit the truce in attacks against Israel.
Fatah leaders said that the statement was made by a splinter group that had left the organization. Five of the 17 wanted men have agreed to demands made by Arafat's security forces. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
