Israeli troops killed Eyad Sawalhe, the commander of Islamic Jihad military wing in Jenin area, early Saturday morning. Three Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded in the gunfight in Jenin's Old City.
According to Israeli reports, Sawalhe was located by troops early Saturday morning out in a hideout that was built behind a revolving wall inside a kitchen of one of the houses near the Old City. Sawalhe's wife turned herself over to the soldiers, but Eyad resisted arrest and started to shoot at the soldiers and throw hand grenades at them, the Israeli reports claimed.
Sawalhe was responsible for a list of major attacks, including the suicide bombings at the Karkur and Megido junctions, which left 31 Israelis dead and 89 wounded. In the past, Sawalhe was a Fatah activist, and spend time in Israeli prison for the killing of Palestinian collaborators. He was released in 1998, and at the outset of the al Aqsa intifada, he joined the ranks of the Islamic Jihad.
Sawalhe's mother and sister were arrested Friday by the Israeli Shin Bet security services at the family's home in the West Bank village of Ra'i, near Jenin.
In the Gaza Strip, an Israeli soldier was killed and an Israeli officer sustained moderate wounds Saturday afternoon when an explosive device blew up near the settlement of Netzarim.
The Islamic Jihad said the attack was in response to the killing earlier Saturday of Eyad Sawalhe. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
