A Palestinian man was killed Thursday and two Israeli police officers wounded, one seriously, during a search operation for a suicide bomber in a Palestinian West Bank village, AFP reported.
A source told the agency that the search was launched in Baqa al Sharqiyya on information that a Palestinian carrying explosives was preparing to carry out a suicide attacks in northern Israel.
Israeli reports said that there were two armed Palestinians with explosives in the area.
The Israeli border-guards, belonging to an elite police anti-terrorist unit, were fired on just before the explosion, AFP said.
The identity of the dead man was not given, but a state of alert declared in northern Israel was lifted after the blast. Roadblocks were removed and police checks eased.
Local residents told AFP by telephone that a loud explosion was heard around 3:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) and a curfew clamped on the village by Israeli forces immediately afterwards.
According to the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper, the security forces beefed up their presence in towns along the Green Line Border, particularly Hadera, Afula and Nahal Iron.
The Green Line marks the pre-1967, UN-delineated border of Israel, as opposed to the present boundaries encompassing Palestinian land conquered and settled after that date – Albawaba.com
