JENIN, West Bank, 18 October 2006 — Five Palestinians, including at least two militants, were killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank yesterday, local medical and security sources said. Two were killed in Qabatya village, near the northern city of Jenin, and the others in a Nablus refugee camp.
Mohammed Zakarneh, 18, a militant from the radical Islamic Jihad faction, was killed and the house where he had been sheltering in Qabatya partially destroyed by army bulldozers, the Palestinian sources said.
An army spokesman said Israeli troops fired on militants who were setting up explosive devices, hitting one of the “armed men.” A few hours later, 24-year-old Hani Kmeil was also shot and killed by Israeli troops in Qabatya. Palestinian security sources said he was fatally wounded while throwing stones at soldiers.
An army spokeswoman said a second Palestinian was killed after forces used rubber bullets to disperse “heavy riots” that broke out in Qabatya.
Meanwhile, Adel Abu Al-Rish, 23, from the radical Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and Firas Abu Al-Rish, a member of the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were shot dead by Israeli special forces in the refugee camp. The two relatives died when the forces opened fire at a Palestinian car, killing them, the local security and medical sources said.
Meanwhile, Israeli prosecutors have begun to draft a charge sheet against Israeli President Moshe Katsav after police said they had evidence he committed rape, Israeli media reported yesterday.
As pressure grew on Katsav to resign, two allies of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert went on trial: former Justice Minister Haim Ramon over charges he forced a kiss on a female soldier and lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi over high-level appointments he made while a minister in a previous government.
