Israeli troops raid West Bank homes
NABLUS, West Bank — Israeli troops sealed off the center of Nablus' old city with cement blocks and trash containers Monday, and searched apartments for seven Palestinian fugitives whose names the army broadcast over local TV and radio stations.
It was the largest Israeli raid in the West Bank in months, with about 80 jeeps, armored vehicles and bulldozers moving around Nablus for a second day. Troops enforced a curfew that confined tens of thousands of Palestinians to their homes.
Soldiers uncovered two explosives labs in what the army said would be an open-ended sweep. Palestinian officials charged that the offensive threatened efforts to restart peace negotiations.
A 42-year-old Palestinian, Anan al-Teibi, was killed Monday by a bullet to the neck while he was in his home in the old city, medics said. The man's son was wounded and evacuated to a hospital, the medics said.
A neighbor, Nashaat Hijawi, said al-Teibi was hit by shots on the house fired from a passing Israeli army jeep. The army said it was checking the report.
Residents said soldiers moved from house to house, searching every room.
Mohammed Attireh, 47, who lives in the area, said all the residents of his building were ordered to stay in his apartment while troops searched the other apartments.
Seven members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were the apparent target of the raid. In a new tactic, troops broke into transmissions of local TV and radio stations Sunday and broadcast the names of the men, all residents of the old city. Soldiers warned civilians against hiding the fugitives.
