March 01, 2007	Thursday	Safar 11, 1428

JENIN (West Bank): Israeli commandos disguised as Palestinians killed an Islamic Jihad commander and two militants in Jenin on Wednesday in a new crackdown in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Israel also re-launched a massive hunt for militants in Nablus, south of Jenin, sending in around 100 jeeps and armoured vehicles, just 24 hours after withdrawing from the West Bank’s second-largest city after a two-day siege.

The Palestinians have condemned the Israeli operations, saying they threatened US-led efforts to rekindle the long-stalled peace process.

In Jenin, the undercover force opened fire on a car carrying the militants, killing Ashraf al-Saadi, 25, a senior Jihad leader in the West Bank, and Alaa Breiki, 26, Palestinian security sources said.

A third militant, Mohammad Abu Naasa, 22, was wounded, but a soldier finished him off with a bullet to the head, witnesses said.

“One of the soldiers took out his pistol and shot him in the head,” said a witness, declining to be named.—AFP