A Palestinian gunman was shot dead on Saturday after he killed an Israeli woman during a raid on a West Bank settlement, capping a day that saw eight people die, despite a Palestinian security official’s meeting with CIA chief George Tenet.
At least one gunman forced his way into the Mekhora settlement some 15 kilometres southeast of the West Bank town of Nablus and managed to kill a female settler before Israeli troops struck him down, the army said without giving further details.
Israel public radio, meanwhile, said two other settlers were seriously wounded in the attack, both of whom were taken to hospital.
A helicopter and a large number of troops were searching the area for a possible second attacker, it added.
On the diplomatic front, Tenet, who put forward proposals for downsizing the Palestinian security services in June, met for 90 minutes at the CIA’s US headquarters with newly appointed Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razeq al-Yahya, a US government official said on condition of anonymity.
”They had a good, useful discussion,” said a source close to the talks, who declined to elaborate further on the discussions that centreed on the reform of the much-maligned Palestinian security forces.
A CIA representative refused to confirm the meeting, but it was said to have taken place on the third and final day of a visit to Washington by a Palestinian delegation headed by top negotiator Saeb Erakat.
The meetings in Washington are the first high-level contacts between the Palestinians and the United States since US President George Bush called for Yasser Arafat to be dumped in June.
As the Palestinian police, widely perceived as corrupt and inefficient, was coming under scrutiny, Egypt announced it would renew efforts to stop the bloodshed by meeting on Sunday with Israeli officials.
Egypt announced its Sunday meeting with Israeli officials in a bid to rekindle security talks, after the failure of the latest round of negotiations over an Israeli proposal to withdraw from reoccupied areas in Gaza in return for a Palestinian crackdown on militants.
With both Israel and the Palestinians wanting guarantees before making the first move on the so-called Gaza initiative, the 22-month-old cycle of violence continued to rage over the weekend.
Israel denounced the late night attack on the settlement, blaming it on an ”irresponsible Palestinian leadership”.
The shooting came hours after the army issued a statement expressing regret over the death of a Palestinian man who was killed by troops as he drove through the West Bank town of Nablus while it was under curfew Saturday afternoon.
Palestinian security sources said Nablus municipality worker Ahmad Qreni (54) was driving through the town’s centre when a tank opened fire on his vehicle. He was hit in the head by bullets, dying shortly afterwards at the town’s hospital.
The Israeli army confirmed soldiers had shot the man dead and ”expressed regret for the incident”, saying an initial probe showed the man had a pass which allowed him to travel in the city during the curfew.
The army said if any the soldiers were found to have acted inappropriately, disciplinary measures would be taken against them.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian was also shot dead by Israeli troops.
The army said the man was carrying grenades which exploded when they shot him, while Palestinian witnesses said he was burying a bomb in the border area.
Elsewhere, an Israeli woman, who was critically injured in a July 31 Palestinian bombing at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, died of her wounds on Saturday, becoming the eighth victim of the attack.
Meanwhile, a teenager injured two days ago following clashes with the Israeli army, and a 23-year-old wounded during an Israeli incursion into Beit Lahia the same day, died on Saturday in Gaza City.
A controversial July 23 air raid which targeted a military leader of the militant Islamist group Hamas also claimed a 16th victim late on Friday.
The latest deaths bring the overall toll since the start of the intifada 22 months ago, to 2 437 — including 1 795 Palestinians and 600 Israelis. – Sapa-AFP