Israeli soldiers kill Hamas commander in West Bank
Israeli forces shoot dead a Hamas commander after peace talks began between the countries earlier this month.
NABLUS:
Israeli soldiers shot dead a local commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement in the West Bank on Friday, Israeli military and Palestinian security sources said.
Iyad Shilbaya, 38, a commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the sources said.
Palestinian security sources said Shilbaya was shot in his home after about 15 military jeeps entered the camp, but an Israeli military spokesman said he had "run in a threatening way towards the soldiers who opened fire."
The spokesman, as well as the Palestinian sources, said Shilbaya had been arrested on several occasions in the past by Israeli forces and the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas confirmed in a statement that Shilbaya was killed, calling him "a martyr."
Reports in the media quoted Shilbaya's brother as alleging that the killing was an assassination and that troops burst into his brother's house at around 3am in the morning and killed him in his bedroom. A floor mat in the room and the bed were stained with blood. He said his brother was a Hamas political activist, not an armed militant.
However, a Hamas military spokesman in Gaza was quoted as confirming that the man was a member of the group's armed wing.
"The murder was the fruit of the negotiations," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in reference to peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government which the Hamas vehemently opposes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas launched peace talks earlier this month amid slim hopes of a settlement of the conflict. The two held a second round of peace talks this week, accompanied by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Israel however has been continuing construction of new settlements severely affecting the talks. The Palestinian foreign minister on Thursday warned that Palestinian negotiators will quit direct peace talks if Israel builds any new settlements after the end of a partial moratorium on construction in the West Bank
Israeli soldiers shot dead a local commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement in the West Bank on Friday, Israeli military and Palestinian security sources said.
Iyad Shilbaya, 38, a commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the sources said.
Palestinian security sources said Shilbaya was shot in his home after about 15 military jeeps entered the camp, but an Israeli military spokesman said he had "run in a threatening way towards the soldiers who opened fire."
The spokesman, as well as the Palestinian sources, said Shilbaya had been arrested on several occasions in the past by Israeli forces and the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas confirmed in a statement that Shilbaya was killed, calling him "a martyr."
Reports in the media quoted Shilbaya's brother as alleging that the killing was an assassination and that troops burst into his brother's house at around 3am in the morning and killed him in his bedroom. A floor mat in the room and the bed were stained with blood. He said his brother was a Hamas political activist, not an armed militant.
However, a Hamas military spokesman in Gaza was quoted as confirming that the man was a member of the group's armed wing.
"The murder was the fruit of the negotiations," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in reference to peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government which the Hamas vehemently opposes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas launched peace talks earlier this month amid slim hopes of a settlement of the conflict. The two held a second round of peace talks this week, accompanied by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Israel however has been continuing construction of new settlements severely affecting the talks. The Palestinian foreign minister on Thursday warned that Palestinian negotiators will quit direct peace talks if Israel builds any new settlements after the end of a partial moratorium on construction in the West Bank