A masked Palestinian protester is hit by a car while
throwing rocks in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of
Silwan. (AP Photo/Moammar Awwad)
Israeli troops in the West Bank killed two senior Hamas
militants, and a settler leader struck a rock-wielding
Palestinian youth with his car in disputed east Jerusalem
as tensions rose over stalled peace talks.
Friction typically runs high in the east Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Silwan because several Jewish families have
settled in the predominantly Palestinian area. The head of a
settler organisation that buys up property for Jews was
driving through when his car was charged by several masked
Palestinian protesters carrying rocks.
The driver, David Beeri of the Elad organization, swerved,
then struck one of the boys, who was thrown onto the hood of
the car and then somersaulted off. Beeri said the accident
was unintentional, Israeli media reported.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Beeri was
brought in for questioning. Media later reported that he was
released on bail just before the Jewish Sabbath.
Police said the boy was lightly hurt and Israeli TV showed
him being interviewed from a hospital bed in east Jerusalem.
Rioting erupted in east Jerusalem three weeks ago after a
private Israeli security guard protecting Jewish families in
Silwan killed a 32-year-old Palestinian man.
The two Hamas gunmen, killed in a raid in the West Bank city
of Hebron, were involved in the shooting deaths of four
Israelis near the city on Aug. 31, just as new
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were getting under way, the
Israeli military said. Media aligned with Hamas in the Gaza
Strip also said the men were behind the Hebron shooting.
Soldiers with jeeps and an armoured bulldozer surrounded the
militants' hideout before dawn. The military said the men
rebuffed calls to surrender and began shooting at the troops
outside. The soldiers then returned fire, killing both
militants, the military said.
An AP photographer on the scene saw one body on the street
outside. The bulldozer later demolished the three-storey
house.
The family that had been inside when the raid began was given
time to leave before the gunbattle began.
Palestinian and Israeli security forces had been looking for
the Hamas men since the four Israelis from a nearby
settlement were shot and killed while driving on a road near
Hebron, Palestinian security officials said. They spoke on
condition of anonymity because the information was not
officially made public.
Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, issued a
statement vowing to avenge the deaths.
A Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by
the militant group, confirmed that both of the men killed
were senior members of the group's armed wing. He spoke on
condition of anonymity because the Islamic organization had
yet to officially identify the dead men.
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