Israeli Army Kills Palestinian Fighter in Nablus, Arafat Ready to be a Martyr

18/09/2003| IslamWeb

Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday shot and killed a Palestinian resistance fighter affiliated with the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, local sources said. The sources Fadi Abu Zint was killed early on Wednesday during clashes with Zionist troops in Nablus. In addition, Zionist troops arrested three Palestinian men in the refugee camp of Balata, near Nablus. According to eye witnesses, an Israeli army undercover unit broke into the camp and started searching several Palestinain houses, and arrested Mo'mar Abu Hamdan, 32, and Fadi Fares, 28, and took them to an unknown destination Also earlier, Zionist occupation forces stormed the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, destroying the family home of a Palestinian activist. Today's fresh bloodshed comes hours after Israeli soldiers carried out what was described as an extra-military execution of Islamic Jihad activists in Dura, near Hebron. **Ready to Die a Martyr*** Yasir Arafat says he is ready to die a martyr and, with a machine gun by his side, he warns he is ready to use it to defend himself. The United States' use of its veto to kill the UN Security Council motion may encourage Israel to carry out its threat to assassinate Arafat. However those fears were not evident on Wednesday when Arafat said: "Is there anyone in Palestine who does not dream of martyrdom? Is there any Palestinian who could not be martyred by daily shelling or missiles?" **International outcry*** At the weekend, the Israeli deputy prime minister revealed he and his colleagues were considering assassinating Arafat because, somewhat ironically, it saw him as an obstacle to peace and a terrorist. The revelation sparked an international outcry and led Arab states to press the UN to pass a resolution demanding Israel neither harm nor expel Arafat. The motion, sponsored by Syria, also condemned acts of violence against civilians on both the Palestinian and Israeli side. But envoy John Negroponte used US powers as a permanent member of the Security Council to block the motion, saying it was flawed because it did not specifically name armed Palestinian groups. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Yasser Arafat blows kisses to thousands of supporters during a pro-Arafat rally at his battered compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003. (AP Photo/ Nasser Nasser)