The sources told Arab News that the Israeli forces shot 37-year-old Iyad As’ad Abu Shilbayeh thrice at point-blank range and then delayed his medical treatment. Shilbayeh was a commander in Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Narrating the sequence of events, Mohammed Shilbayeh, Iyad's brother, said dozens of military vehicles raided the camp at 2 a.m. He said the raiders used him (Mohammed) as a human shield during the raid. They blew up the bedroom door and shot Iyad three times — once in the neck and twice in the chest — while he was in bed.
The Israelis seized the body of Iyad before allowing the Palestinian forces to take it back to the family in the morning, Mohammed said.
Shilbayeh's wife and children were visiting other members of his extended family in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Palestinian security sources said Israeli forces also arrested 15 people from the camp, most of them members and supporters of Hamas.
An Israeli Army spokesman said that the troops were arresting "terror suspects in the refugee camp when the shooting occurred." He said that during the operation Shilbayeh began running toward the soldiers in a menacing manner. He did not heed their calls to stop, and once the soldiers determined they were in clear danger, they opened fire.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad strongly condemned the "assassination." In a press statement, he said: "This assassination is a dangerous escalation, and undermines the credibility of the already shaky peace process."
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, accused Palestinian security forces of helping Israel in "assassinating" Shilbayeh, who it said was interrogated by security services loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas two days ago.
"The blood of our martyr will be a curse that will follow the occupation and the traitors," the movement said in a statement.
Salah Al-Bardwil, a spokesman for Hamas, said the killing was an "attempt to cover up negotiations." "These negotiations will lead to many important concessions," Al-Bardwil warned, saying that the assassination was part of an Israeli plan to divert attention from “the concessions Palestinian negotiators were making."
He was alluding to the latest round of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that concluded in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Despite the fanfare with which the direct negotiations between the parties were launched in Washington early this month, the talks seem to be going nowhere. On Friday, Israel reiterated its refusal to extend curbs on settlement building that expire this month.
"The prime minister has not changed his position on this issue, there is no question of extending the moratorium," a senior Israeli government official said.
The decision not to renew the moratorium, which does not cover annexed east Jerusalem, was taken this week by the Forum of Seven top Cabinet ministers, according to the daily Israel Hayom, which is close to the government. That decision was communicated to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in the Middle East this week in a bid to push the peace process forward, the newspaper reported.
— With input from agencies
