Two Palestinians Killed by Israeli Troops

31/01/2006| IslamWeb

Two Palestinians have been killed in a shootout with Israeli troops in the northern West Bank, sources on both sides say.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that Tuesday's incident in which the two Palestinian fighters were killed also caused an unknown number of Israeli casualties.

The clashes broke out when Israeli troops moved into the village of Arraba in the Jenin area of the northern occupied territory, Palestinian and Israeli security sources said.

Border police entered the village to arrest suspects from the Islamic Jihad organisation, which has been responsible for the last six bombings in Israel, an Israeli army spokeswoman said.

"An exchange of fire erupted between two Islamic Jihad terrorists and the border police force in which these two Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed. There were also casualties on our side," she said.

She refused to provide any further details on the Israeli casualties.

Palestinian witnesses said that an Israeli soldier was also wounded in the shootout and evacuated by helicopter to an Israeli hospital.

The two deaths raised to 4939 the number of people killed since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000. More than three-quarters have been Palestinians.

PHOTO CAPTION

A burning barricade blocks the road during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops after two Islamic Jihad members were killed Tuesday Jan. 31, 2006. (AP)