HEBRON, West Bank (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Israeli occupation troops withdrew Monday from areas in volatile Hebron as part of truce efforts, and an Islamic Resistance leader was killed in another West Bank town in an explosion blamed on Israel. (Read photo caption below)The victim, Ahmed Marshoud, was a member of the Islamic militant group Hamas in the town of Nablus. On Sunday, Israel killed a regional Hamas leader, Abdel-Rahman Hamad in the town of Qalqiliya.saying it targeted him because he helped plot a June suicide bombing that killed 22 people.
Palestinian officials said Israel was behind Monday's explosion, while the Israeli army had no immediate comment.
``It's clear that there are parties that are looking to destroy all the international efforts aimed at stopping Israeli aggression,'' said Jibril Rajoub, the Palestinian security chief in the West Bank.
Also Monday, Jewish settlers opened fire on Palestinian farmers, and torched two of their cars near a West Bank village, Palestinian security officials said. There were no reports of injuries.
Israeli occupation troops, backed by tanks, had seized two hilltop neighborhoods in Hebron on Oct. 5.
Protesting the pullback, Israel's ultranationalist National Union party, a patron of the settlement movement, announced it would leave Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government.
The party has seven seats, and their exit reduces the number of seats in Sharon's coalition to 78 in the 120-member parliament. While Sharon still has a solid majority, he might now become more dependent on the moderate Labor party to stay in power.
PHOTO CAPTION:
A Palestinian police officer removes part of the car of Ahmed Marshoud, a member of the Islamic militant group Hamas, who was killed in an explosion in his car as he was parking it in the West Bank town of Nablus Monday, Oct. 15 2001. Palestinian officials said Israel was behind Monday's explosion, while the Israeli army had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)