Israel was braced for more suicide bombings today after troops shot dead one Palestinian and wounded 10 others, and authorities arrested two Palestinian militants they said intended to set off a bomb in a crowded port city.
As intelligence reports warned of further attacks, the military maintained its grip around Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqiliya in the West Bank in a bid to stop Palestinians from getting around roadblocks and entering Israel.
Mr Abdel Rahman Abu Bakra (29) was shot in the head when Israeli tanks opened fire with cannon and machine guns after entering an autonomous Palestinian sector at Khan Yunes in the south of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian security source said.
The tanks, accompanied by two bulldozers, withdrew shortly after the incursion last night, the source said.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the incursion, but denied that tanks were involved. Troops had moved in to attack a group of "terrorists," had fired on the group and hit some people, the spokesman said.
Police yesterday also set up blockades on the main thoroughfares in northern Israel, in particular in the Haifa area, at entrances to the port, and the Hadera region northwest of Tel Aviv.
Israel claimed yesterday evening that the measures had paid dividends, announcing the arrest of two members of the militant Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, said to be carrying a bomb they intended to set off in Haifa.
They were said to be carrying a bomb packed with 10 kilograms of explosives, nails and chunks of metal.
AFP