Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian fighter in the West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, local hospital staff said. Local residents identified the man as Mohanad Ghandour, 32, a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Fatah faction.
According to Reuters, Ghandour was often referred to as Mohand the Jordanian, because he is a Palestinian citizen of Jordan.
The Israeli army said troops had spotted an armed man during an operation in Nablus' Old City and had shot him. Medical staff said the man died of his wounds before arriving at hospital.
Meanwhile, the Army of Islam, one of the three Palestinian groups holding the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit captive since June 25 2006, issued a handbill on Wednesday stating the Shalit is in the hands of Hamas fighters. The statement was distributed in the Gaza Strip.
It said a power struggle between the ruling Hamas group and the Fatah faction was delaying a prisoner swap with Israel. "The issue of the captured soldier has become a political case for the sake of narrow factional interests. Muslims are being prevented from gaining their freedom because of Fatah and because of Hamas," the statement read.
"Either Fatah uses it to get at Hamas, or Hamas uses it to get at Fatah."
