Israeli troops on Thursday shot and killed an armed 17-year-old Palestinian suspected of preparing to ambush a convoy of Jewish worshippers near Nablus, the army said. Soldiers also killed one of three Palestinians involved in a grenade and shooting attack in the Gaza Strip. Bloodshed has largely subsided since a cease-fire in February, but sporadic violence has raised fears that Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza in August could be disrupted and has dampened hopes of peace talks. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel pledged last month to work to preserve the truce and coordinate security steps to enable a smooth evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza. The troops killed the teenager near Nablus in the West Bank and severely wounded his friend as a convoy of Jewish worshippers left the Joseph's Tomb holy site. The two Palestinians were on the side of the road, apparently prepared for an ambush, the army said. The two Palestinians belonged to the militant Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades. Ala Sanakra, a leader of the group, vowed to avenge the killing. In the past, Palestinians have desecrated and burned the tomb after acts of violence in the area.
In Gaza, three Palestinians threw a grenade and opened fire overnight at troops force securing the Israeli settlement of Morag, the Israeli military said. The troops returned fire and hit two of the gunmen, the military said. Palestinian security officials said the military had turned over one body.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered quicker work to finish Israel's contentious West Bank separation barrier, The Associated Press reported from Jerusalem, citing a senior Israeli official, setting off Palestinian accusations that Sharon was undermining peace prospects. The official said the order applied especially to the section enclosing Jerusalem, a sensitive part of the barrier that Palestinians contend is an attempt to take over part of the disputed city. "The order is to progress wherever possible," the official, Giora Eiland, head of the National Security Council, said on Israel Radio. Begun more than two years ago, the barrier, which is intended to extend for 680 kilometers, or 425 miles, is about one-third completed. Court appeals and funding shortfalls have contributed to delays.
In appeals to Israel's Supreme Court, Palestinians have successfully challenged the route of the barrier in several places where it cuts villages off from their farmland or creates other hardships. Some cases are still pending, blocking construction. "Regarding our position at the Supreme Court," Eiland said, "we will try to speed it up and put forward our position in a more convincing way so these holdups can be resolved."
The newspaper Haaretz reported Wednesday that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz had presented a modified route for the barrier around the Ariel settlement, deep in the West Bank, removing some Palestinian villages from the enclosure in an attempt to avert court challenges. The report could not be confirmed. The Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sharon's order to accelerate construction of the barrier "undermines the efforts to revive the peace process." "We urge the U.S. and President Bush to exert maximum efforts in order to have Sharon comply with the cessation of violence and cessation of building the wall," Erekat said.