Two Palestinians were killed in an unexplained explosion at a house in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata near Nablus on Thursday, Palestinian medical sources said.
The cause of the blast was not clear. Palestinian sources said there was no immediate evidence that Israel was behind it.
The report said that the two were from Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, and that five other people were wounded in the explosion.
Also Thursday, Palestinians reported Israeli troops operating in two villages to the east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Israel Radio reported.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Thursday that Israel is about to face "waves" of male and female Palestinian suicide bombers.
"And trust me, I know what I'm talking about," Ben-Eliezer told an audience at the Kibbutz seminar center. “We have returned to the same struggle, [which is] in my estimation, much more complex”.
"As you all know, we are not talking about facing an army, rather that we are faced with waves of male and female suicide bombers - and trust me - when I say waves, I know what I am talking about", the minister said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"To my sorrow, they are backed by a political leadership that has adopted terror as a political tool," Ben-Eliezer added.
Earlier in the day in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops apprehended a Palestinian with explosive devices who may have been planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack, Army Radio reported.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops, accompanied by tanks and armored personnel carriers, entered the city of Hebron and arrested 13 Palestinians. In the area of Jalmeh next to the city of Jenin, three armed Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of involvement in attacks. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
