Palestinian security sources told Arab News during the raid on Mohammad Khatib's home in the West Bank village Ya'bad that six of his relatives were arrested, and computers were confiscated.
Khatib on Wednesday stabbed to death the Israeli Druze soldier Ihab Chattib, 28, at the Za'tarah intersection south of Nablus. The assailant was then run down by an Israeli motorist and arrested.
An Israeli general said on Thursday the Palestinian policeman had indicated a suicidal motive for the attack. "I met this murderer shortly after the stabbing. He said he was tired of living, and this looks like something that is related to his personal circumstances," Israeli Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon said, without elaborating.
Alon's comments on Israeli radio appeared to suggest Khatib may have hoped he would be killed while carrying out the attack on Chattib, who was sitting in a military jeep.
"We didn't find any sign in his home of an organizational affiliation or of clear ideological reasons," Alon said.
A senior Palestinian security official said Khatib, a captain and a 10-year veteran of the police force, had a clean record "consistent with the policy of the security forces, which do not condone attacks on Israelis."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government, which is pursuing a law-and-order drive in the hope of sidelining Hamas rivals and preparing for statehood, issued a rare condemnation of the attack, calling for "peaceful resistance" to Israel.
"This is an isolated incident and it should not affect the the security coordination with Israel," the Palestinian security official said.
Khatib's father, Youssef, said his son, who holds a college degree in psychology, had served most recently in the office of the chief of police in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
He said Khatib belonged to Abbas' Fatah faction and had left for work on Wednesday as normal. "My son is very mild-mannered and I do not believe he would do this," he said.
Ordinary Palestinians voiced mixed reaction to the stabbing.
"This incident did not come out of thin air. A lack of hope drives Palestinians to carry out unexpected things," said Misbah Masamreh, 63, a Ramallah bakery shop owner.
Another Ramallah resident said despite a lack of progress in peace talks with Israel, suspended for more than a year, Palestinians should not commit such attacks.
"Why to do such things? Will this get us closer to our aim despite the Israeli procrastination? The answer is no," said Idrees Natour, 49.
In a separate development, an Israeli military court sentenced Ameen Jamil Amro from Hebron to 33 months in prison for sending a threatening fax to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Radio said Amro was also convicted at attempted assault, after he arrived at Gush Etzion near Bethlehem with a knife in order to of stab Israelis at the site.
According to the indictment, Amro walked in the Hebron public library in June 2009 and sent a fax to the Prime Minister's Office, threatening that Netanyahu will be murdered within a few days.
Amro signed the letter with his real name and also provided his personal identification card number. Later on, the Hebron resident arrived at the Gush Etzion junction with a 10-centimeter knife.
The report said his conduct aroused suspicions of Israeli soldiers at the site and he turned himself in to them.
Amro confessed to the offenses attributed to him, but his attorney provided an unusual explanation for his client's acts. Amro wanted to be arrested by Israeli forces because of a dispute with his family, the lawyer said, adding this is why his client included his personal details in the threatening fax to Netanyahu.
However, the Israeli military judge was unimpressed by the odd line of defense, sentencing Amro to a jail term.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces arrested 26 Palestinians from West Bank cities. The Palestinian security sources said 19 of them were detained in the Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah. The other seven were arrested in the cities of Bethlehem and Jenin.
-- With input from agencies
