Israeli troops deployed near the West Bank city of Nablus shot and killed Wednesday night a Palestinian near the village of Oserin.
According to Israeli press reports, the soldiers spotted the man standing on a hillock, holding an unknown object in his hands. He discarded the object and fled as the soldiers approached him. They opened fire, killing him. The object was later found to be an adz, an agricultural implement.
Earlier, Israeli security forces arrested a woman in Bethlehem who was allegedly planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion, but then changed her mind.
According to Israel Radio, Arin Ahmed, 23, from Beit Sahour, was planning to carry out the attack in Rishon Letzion's pedestrian mall last week. On May 22, a 16-year-old Palestinian blew himself up in Rishon Letzion, killing himself and two Israelis.
The Israelis lifted the curfew in Bethlehem for a few hours Wednesday to allow residents to buy food. For its part, the Palestinian leadership issued a statement denouncing the Israeli incursions, which take place almost nightly.
The statement, distributed by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, charged that Israeli forces are "continuing their aggression ... practicing random arrests and humiliating the citizens and firing on residential areas, killing and wounding many civilians." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
