A second Palestinian man was killed Thursday when Israeli troops opened fire on cars at a roadblock near the West Bank town of Nablus, according to reports.
Rashad Mohanna, 45, was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on another car which had tried to pull out of a line traffic waiting at the Israeli roadblock.
Another unidentified Palestinian was killed when that car crashed, witnesses told AFP.
The soldiers opened fire at the car, which then overturned. Two Palestinians who were inside were wounded and later died of their wounds. It is not yet clear if the two were wounded by the soldiers' shots or by their car overturning. One of the Palestinians killed may have been in a different car and was struck by the bullets.
According to the soldiers, cited by the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz daily, the car did not stop for a routine check at the crossing, and the driver attempted to force his vehicle through.
AFP reported that an Israeli soldier died of wounds sustained during an attack Thursday by Palestinian gunmen in the northern West Bank, Israeli security and settler sources said.
Haaretz had reported that two Israelis were injured in a shooting incident on the Green Line, north of Tul Karm, near the West Bank village of Baka el-Sharakiya on Thursday afternoon. One person suffered light-to-moderate wounds, while the other was has moderate-to-serious injuries.
The two were apparently shot by gunmen in a passing vehicle. Security forces and rescue workers made their way to the scene of the attack and took the two to Hillel Yaffe hospital in Hadera.
But a Palestinian who was killed Thursday night by the Israeli forces did not have the chance for an ambulance to come to rescue.
According to the Palestinian official news agency (WAFA), Israeli troops kidnapped a Palestinian from Gaza city last night and assassinated him at the Martyrs Junction, or Netzarim.
He was identified as Rami Mansour,30, a resident of the Shujaeyya quarters in the city.
The Palestinian agency also reported Thursday that the Israeli army made a brief incursion through Karni crossing point into Gaza, and stormed a factory where soldiers “stole some electric appliances.”
SHARON INTRANSIGENT OVER SEVEN DAYS OF TOTAL CALM DEMAND
At the political level, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday ruled out any compromise on his insistence on seven days of total calm before starting truce talks with the Palestinians, just hours before leaving for the United States.
The hardline decision came despite a statement by Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, who on Wednesday did not rule out that Israel might make a compromise on the seven-day calm demand.
The demand has come under criticism from Palestinians, who call it a tactic to avoid negotiations by simply leaving the situation vulnerable to extremists.
However, Sharon said: "We will not negotiate under fire. We hold to our stance," referring to his continued insistence that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat halt all attacks on Israeli targets before any talks could take place.
Arafat pledged after a meeting with US envoy Anthony Zinni on Wednesday that he would exert 100 percent efforts to preserve a ceasefire.
Sharon was addressing reporters before heading off for Washington later in the day for a five-day visit which will include his third meeting with US President George W. Bush.
"There will be peace, yes, if we don't make mistakes and if we stand by agreements," Sharon said.
Sharon was also quoted by the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper as saying that he was one of a handful of people capable of reaching a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, and emphasized that it could only be achieved through a series of interim agreements between the two sides.
Sharon made the comments in an address before the Editors Council at Beit Sokolov in Tel Aviv.
"I believe the Palestinians are missing out on an exceptional opportunity," he said. "I am one of the few who can broker a deal with the Palestinians."
Sharon, who came to power promising to ensure the safety of ordinary Israelis shortly after taking office, recently told his Likud Party inner circle to prepare for a long struggle.
Over 700 Palestinians and more than 190 Israelis have been killed in the latest Palestinian uprising against 34 years of Israeli military occupation.
US ENVOYS PUSH PEACE TALKS
Amid Sharon's departure, US envoys have arrived in the region aiming to kick-start efforts to cement a ceasefire on the ground and implement the Mitchell plan, named after former US senator George Mitchell, which provides a road map for defusing tensions and restoring confidence.
In Egypt, where he met with President Hosni Mubarak, US envoy William Burns said that a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict would be the "first step" toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
"We discussed the ways in which we can continue to work together to try to help produce a durable ceasefire between Palestinians and Israelis," Burns, who is US assistant secretary of state, told reporters.
He said it would be "the first step toward a rapid implementation of the Tenet and Mitchell plans in all their aspects and the resumption of the political process.”
To Palestinians, the next six weeks will be "crucial" to resolving more than a year of resistance to Israeli military occupation.
A top aide to Arafat told AFP Thursday that "the next six weeks are going to be crucial to the fate of the peace process."
Nabil Abu Rudeina added that senior US peace envoys in the region must translate Washington's vision for a Palestinian state into reality.
He said the "real test" for US envoys Anthony Zinni and Burns was to make good on Bush's speech at the United Nations earlier this month for a Palestinian state to be established based on UN resolutions calling on Israel to quit occupied territory.
He said Zinni, a retired Marine Corps general, and Burns should ensure Israel ends it blockade of the Palestinian territories, which have been sealed off since the start of the uprising 14 months ago, and stop "Israeli aggression."
Abu Rudeina said Zinni's meetings with Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Wednesday had been "serious and positive."
Zinni, according to Haaretz, is due meet separately with the Palestinians and the Israelis on Thursday. He was expected in Egypt, but he did not join Burns in his visit to Cairo – Albawaba.com
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