RAMALLAH, West Bank, 6 June — A member of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction was seriously wounded yesterday in what Palestinians called an Israeli assassination attempt amid scattered clashes that left 15 others hurt.
Fatah member Ashraf Bardaweil, 27, was driving his car near the village of Dhanabeh near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank when it was hit by a missile, Fatah official Faeq Kanaan said, describing it as an assassination bid.
In Washington, President George W. Bush said there had been sufficient progress toward a cease-fire between Palestinians and Israelis to warrant sending CIA Director George Tenet to the region for security talks.
And Israel announced a partial easing from today of its blockade of the Palestinian territories, lifting restrictions on the passage of oil, gas and food products between Israel and the occupied territories but maintaining strict controls on the movement of people.
