Israeli Soldier Killed in West Bank Raid

Israeli Soldier Killed in West Bank Raid

Published: 3/16/06, 7:46 AM EDT
JENIN, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops surrounded two houses in a West Bank town Thursday, setting off a fierce gunbattle with Palestinian militants that left one soldier dead and forced the surrender of five wanted men.

It was Israel's second strike against Palestinian militants this week. Opinion polls showed the first incursion - a dramatic prison raid that captured six militants Tuesday - boosted voter support for acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the run-up to March 28 elections.

Thursday's shootout in Jenin erupted as soldiers demanded the surrender of five fugitives from Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The army said one wanted man ran out of a building early during the raid, and the other four surrendered later. An Israeli soldier was shot dead.

Students threw stones at the Israeli soldiers, and an army bulldozer tried to disperse the crowd. Troops took over homes in the area, taking up position and fighting with gunmen.

The Islamic militant Hamas, meanwhile, said it would announce the final composition of its government by Friday and present it to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for approval early next week.

It appeared increasingly likely that the government would be made up only of Hamas, with both Abbas' Fatah Party and the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine failing to reach a coalition deal with Hamas.

Israel has said it would shun a Hamas-led government, a position backed by the U.S. and Europe, which have threatened to cut off funds to a Palestinian Authority led by the militants.

The World Bank warned in a report released Thursday that cutting off international aid would devastate the struggling Palestinian economy, and that three-quarters of the Palestinians would live in poverty by 2008.

The militants captured in the raid on the Jericho jail included Ahmed Saadat, the suspected mastermind of the 2001 assassination of an Israeli Cabinet minister. The operation had wide backing in Israel, but some questioned its pre-election timing. Olmert has rejected allegations he ordered the raid to win the support of hardline voters.

Olmert's centrist Kadima Party had been sliding in the polls in recent weeks to fewer than 40 of 120 parliament seats. Although the party remained far ahead of its closest rivals, its dip had raised speculation that a Kadima-led coalition would not be strong enough to implement its vision of West Bank withdrawals.

A poll by the independent Geocartography Institute showed Kadima would win 42-43 seats, up from 38 last week, said Avi Degani, head of the polling agency. The poll of 500 people was conducted Wednesday and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Other polls also had Kadima rising, but not passing the 40 seat mark.

Some pollsters and analysts attributed the rise to the Jericho raid. But Degani said the gains could not necessarily be attributed to the raid, because Geocartography had similar results in a survey conducted Monday - a day before the operation.

Hamas, meanwhile, said it would hold a final round of coalition talks Thursday, decide on the composition of its government by Friday and present it to Abbas by early next week. Jamil Majdalawi, a lawmaker who headed the Popular Front's coalition talks, said he did not believe the group would find common ground with Hamas to join its government.

Hamas' election victory in January has placed Abbas in the difficult situation: he will have to deal with a Cabinet controlled by a rival party and threatened by crippling economic sanctions.

Abbas has the right to veto the composition of a Hamas government, or ask that some ministers be replaced. However, Hamas controls a majority in parliament, and Abbas cannot impose a government of his choosing, since any Cabinet needs parliament approval.

Israel is leading efforts to isolate a Hamas government, an Islamic group sworn to Israel's destruction. Israel has already suspended monthly transfers of tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority. Israel says it fears the money - which totaled $740 million last year - would reach the militants.

The World Bank warned Thursday that cutting of international aid could cause the Palestinian economy to contract by 27 percent and income levels to drop by 30 percent this year alone - levels comparable to a deep depression. Unemployment would reach nearly 50 percent by 2008, with three-quarters of the population living in poverty, defined as living off less than about $2 a day, the report said.

The international community donated about $1.3 billion to the Palestinians last year. But Western donors, who provide the bulk of the assistance, have threatened to cut off the money if the incoming Hamas government does not renounce violence.

Hamas has so far rejected global calls to moderate its views, and instead has turned to the Arab and Islamic world for financial assistance. Iran has pledged to assist a Hamas-led government.
credit BellSouth