"Israeli" and Palestinian killed in clash

Source: aljazeera.net, 2-5-2005.‏
An "Israeli" soldier and a Palestinian resistance fighter have been killed in Saida village near Tulkarim, putting further strain on a tenuous ceasefire.‏
"Israeli" occupation forces, backed by several military vehicles and helicopters, raided Saida and Alar villages, imposing a curfew on its citizens, Aljazeera`s correspondent in the Palestinian territories, Muain Shadid, said on Monday.‏
The resistance fighter, identified by village residents as Shafiq Awni Abd al-Ghani, 37, was killed in the Ras Hilala area northeast of Saida, near the West Bank city of Tulkarim, one of three cities handed over to Palestinian Authority security control under a truce declared in February.‏
Aljazeera`s Shadid said Abd al-Ghani was the leader of Islamic Jihad`s military wing al-Quds Brigades in the village.‏
"Israeli" military sources claim Abd al-Ghani had fired at the advancing soldiers.‏
Aljazeera`s correspondent said the fighter had killed an "Israeli" soldier before being killed himself. Dozens of citizens threw stones and empty bottles at the soldiers afterwards, he added.‏
Curfew‏
Palestinian residents of the village said occupation troops entered before dawn and imposed a curfew during their search for suspects before withdrawing to the surrounding hills.‏
The curfew, also imposed on Alar village, prevented students from going to school and shops from opening, Shadid said.‏
Saida is one of several villages which Palestinian authorities demanded be included in the March handover of Tulkarim to Palestinian security control, but "Israel" refused claiming the villages were full of fighters.‏
No immediate comment was available from the Palestinians.‏
Previous incidents involving "Israeli" forces have drawn Palestinian charges that Tel Aviv was sabotaging efforts to implement an internationally-backed road map peace plan.‏
"Israel" says it reserves the right to go after fighters planning imminent attacks.‏