Israelis Kill Two Palestinian Militants (tried to run roadblock)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/17/05 | Ravi Nessman - ap

[NormsRevenge]

JERUSALEM - Israeli forces killed two Palestinian militants Thursday during a West Bank arrest raid, riddling their car with bullets when it tried to run a roadblock outside the town of Jenin, the army said.

The shooting, part of a recent increase in Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, threatened to inflame tensions between the two sides, which agreed to a cease-fire nine months ago. The truce has been repeatedly violated by both sides, though the level of violence remains far lower than before the agreement.

The army said the incident Thursday began when an Israeli force seeking to arrest two wanted militants set up a checkpoint outside Jenin. When the militants tried to run the roadblock, the force opened fire and the vehicle ran off the road and flipped over, the army said.

An Associated Press photo showed the two young militants dead in their car, their bodies riddled by bullets.

Mohammed Turkman, a Palestinian who witnessed the attack, said that after the car ran off the road, the Israelis got out of their truck, ran down to the car, and shot the militants again, before returning to the truck and driving off.

Palestinian security officials identified the slain men as Mohammed Zaid, 18, and Ahmed Abahri, 18, militants with the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia affiliated with the ruling Fatah party. Al Aqsa threatened to retaliate.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the killing and warned of the "serious collapse" of the cease-fire.

"I hope that the Israeli election campaign will not be marked by more Palestinian blood," he said hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to hold new elections early next year.

The Israeli election and a Palestinian parliamentary election scheduled for January are expected to freeze all peace efforts between the two sides for several months.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hopes to capitalize on Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to beat back a challenge from the Islamic Hamas group.

However, Abbas has had difficulty establishing his authority and bringing order to the volatile territory,

Defying a Palestinian Authority ban on public displays of weapons, about 1,000 Al Aqsa militants brandishing assault rifles and rocket launchers marched through Gaza City on Thursday and vowed to hold on to their arms.

The militants fired into the air while their leaders made speeches insisting on the right to bear arms against Israel, which still controls most access points to Gaza.

"Brothers, don't ever give up your weapons," a senior Gaza leader known by the nickname Abu Ibrahim told the crowd. "We can't lay down our arms while Israel still occupies the West Bank, surrounds Gaza and controls our airspace and coastal waters, which means that the occupation remains and resistance will continue."

The arms ban was announced two months ago after an explosion at a Hamas rally killed 25 people. Hamas blamed Israel, but Palestinian investigators said the blast was set off when militants mishandled explosives they were displaying at the rally.

Al Aqsa spokesman Zakariye Assouli said the group supported the Palestinian Authority's efforts to stop internal violence, while reserving the right to avenge Israeli attacks.

"We respect our brothers in the political leadership," Assouli said. "We honor their commitments, but they can't ask us to watch daily Israeli aggression and to remain silent."

Also Thursday, an Israeli military court sentenced Mohammed Mahmoud, a Fatah militant from the West Bank city of Ramallah, to three life sentences plus an additional 30 years in prison for his role in two separate shootings in Israel in 2000 and 2001 that killed four Israelis.

The military court also returned indictments against two young Hamas members for the September kidnapping and murder of Israeli businessman Sasson Nuriel. The indictment alleges Mohammed Ruhni, 17, planned Nuriel's abduction, and Said Shlalda, 18, stabbed him to death.

[lilylangtree]

The only good one is a DEAD one.

[Mr. Mojo]

The shooting, part of a recent increase in Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, threatened to inflame tensions between the two sides

No, the Palestinian "militants" running the roadblock was the action that inflamed the tensions.

[Personal Responsibility]

riddling their car with bullets when it tried to run a roadblock outside the town of Jenin, the army said.

Jenin? It must be a MASSACRE! Oh, wait, no it wasn't.....

[2banana]

The shooting, part of a recent increase in Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, threatened to inflame tensions between the two sides, which agreed to a cease-fire nine months ago.

How come a muslim suicide bomber blowing himself up on a bus next to women and children never "threatened to inflame tensions..."

[NormsRevenge]

Residents remove from their car the bodies of Mohammed Zaid, 18, foreground, and Ahmed Abahri, 18, militants with the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia affiliated with the ruling Fatah party, in the outskirts of the West Bank town of Jenin Thursday Nov. 17, 2005. Israeli forces killed the two Palestinian militants in an ambush Thursday, riddling their car with gunfire as it approached the volatile West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian witnesses and the army said. Mohammed Turkman, a Palestinian who witnessed the attack, said that after the car ran off the road the Israelis got out of their truck, ran down to the car, and shot the militants again, before returning to the truck and driving off. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

---

Palestinian mourners carry the bodies of Mohammed Zaid, 18, foreground, and Ahmed Abahri, 18, militants with the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia affiliated with the ruling Fatah party, during their funeral in the West Bank town of Jenin Thursday Nov. 17, 2005. Israeli forces killed the two Palestinian militants in an ambush Thursday, riddling their car with gunfire as it approached the volatile West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian witnesses and the army said. Mohammed Turkman, a Palestinian who witnessed the attack, said that after the car ran off the road the Israelis got out of their truck, ran down to the car, and shot the militants again, before returning to the truck and driving off. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

[beltfed308]

Another happy ending. Sniff.sniff..

[MikeA]

"The truce has been repeatedly violated by both sides, though the level of violence remains far lower than before the agreement."

No, the truce has been violated by the Palestinian vermin. Israel has merely maintained it's right to defend itself by responding to those attacks and working to head off further attacks. Israel would never have lifted a finger if not for these Palestinian pigs ignoring the truce and launching attacks, people who prefer war to peace, death to life, chaos to tranquility. Typical of the mainstream media to create such brainless equivalencies.

[clee1]

With one 30 roung magazine..... loack and load.

Good shooting IDF!

[ncountylee]

Looking good!

[clee1]

Because liberal moonbats write the stories.

[GSlob]

But the car is described as "flipped over" and in the photos it sits upright. Could the photos be from another accident?

[Sabramerican]

WOW. The "Palestinian" propaganda and anti Israel bias of the MSM just reached a new higher level.

[NormsRevenge]

pure speculating but, it may have self-righted itself. the roof looks pretty intact from a distance, not sure how 'flipped' it really was..

[Sabramerican]

Israeli version (Haaretz- Leftist to the core)


Elite troops kill militants near Jenin
Two Palestinian members of the military wing of the ruling Fatah party were killed on Thursday during an Israel Defense Forces operation near the West Bank city of Jenin.

The clash erupted after IDF special forces set up a roadblock. The two, Mohammed Zaid and Ahmed Abahra, both 18, tried to drive around the barrier in their car. The soldiers then opened fire and killed the militants.

According to the IDF, Abahra was armed with a pistol. The two were connected to Islamic Jihad and were involved in attacks against the army, the IDF said.

Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the killing.

"I want to condemn this Israeli escalation and warn of the serious collapse of the cessation of violence between the two sides," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "I hope that the Israeli election campaign will not be marked by more Palestinian blood."

[Sabramerican]

From what other Israeli sources are writing it is possible the Arabs put the bodies back in the car to stage the photos.

Don't believe that would happen?

YOU MUST WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

http://seconddraft.org/movies.php

[PsyOp]

"...and shot the militants again, before returning to the truck and driving off."

Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice...

[untrained skeptic]

"The shooting, part of a recent increase in Israeli raids in Palestinian towns"

How is shooting at a vehicle running a roadblock considered part of a raid?

You'd think the AP would try just a little not to sound biased.

[reagan_fanatic]

That there's good shootin!

[NormsRevenge]

Reading the captions of the photos and the actual article kind of confused this incident for me too.

I see I wasn't alone. ;-)