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An IDF infantry soldier patrolling during a military operation in the village of Qabatiyeh near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday. (AP) Last update - 00:11 18/10/2006 Five Palestinians killed by IDF troops in West Bank, Gaza By Amos Harel and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and News Agencies Israel Defense Forces troops shot and killed five Palestinians in four separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday. A Hamas gunman was killed and another wounded in clashes with IDF troops in northern Gaza late Tuesday night, Reuters reported. IDF troops backed by tanks entered the northern Gaza Strip late Tuesday evening and battled Palestinian gunmen, Palestinian witnesses said. Advertisement The witnesses said a number of IDF tanks entered northern Gaza, east of the Jabalya refugee camp. The forces clashed with Hamas militants in the area, who fired anti-tank rockets. Hamas said one of its gunmen killed and another wounded in the fighting. The IDF said it was checking the report. Earlier Tuesday, IDF troops uncovered two tunnels near Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border. Two Palestinians were killed Tuesday afternoon by IDF soldiers operating in the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp near Nablus, including a wanted Fatah militant. Undercover IDF troops attempted to arrest 24-year-old A'adel Abu Rish, wanted for his activities in the Fatah military wing and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was also suspected of involvement in shooting and bombing attacks. Abu Rish was traveling in a vehicle driven by his cousin, 22-year-old Firas Abu Rish, and was armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Soldiers opened fire on the vehicle when the two tried to flee, killing both men. An Islamic Jihad gunman was killed early Tuesday in an exchange of fire with Israel Defense Forces troops in the Qabatiyeh village near the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian witnesses and the IDF said. Islamic Jihad identified the dead as Mohammed Zakarneh, 18. The IDF said one of its patrols was on a routine arrest raid in Qabatiyeh when it was fired upon by two militants. Troops returned fire and identified hitting one of the men, the IDF said. Later Tuesday, Border Policemen fired at Palestinian stonethrowers in Qabatiya, killing one and moderately injuring another, according to the IDF. Palestinian officials confirmed the two were throwing stones at military jeeps and identified the dead as 20-year-old Hani Khalil Kmeil. According to the officials, 16-year-old Mohammed Kmeil, 16, was moderately wounded in the incident. IDF uncovers Gaza-Egypt tunnels IDF troops entered 1.5 kilometers into Gaza on Tuesday morning, on the border between the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, south of Rafah. During searches, the troops uncovered two tunnels under the border, which they plan to destroy. In the past months, 15 different tunnels have been uncovered. Some were used for smuggling weapons between Egypt and Gaza; others were dug towards Israel in order to infiltrate army bases and into the Green Line. IAF hits Gaza after Qassam firing The IAF fired missiles at northern Gaza late Monday, hours after a Qassam rocket landed near Sderot. No one was reported hurt as a result of the IAF missile fire. The army said the missile attack was aimed to destroy rocket launchers, often used to fire Qassams at southern towns in Israel. Israeli forces have been carrying out air strikes almost nightly against suspected militants and rocket launchers in Gaza as part of an offensive launched after a soldier was captured in a cross-border raid by Hamas-linked gunmen in June. Earlier in the day, militants in the Gaza Strip had fired at least two Qassam rockets at the western Negev, one of which landed next to a home in the town of Sderot, lightly wounding a woman in the leg. Seven other people were treated for shock. Another Qassam landed earlier in the day next to Kibbutz Nir-Am, also in the western Negev. Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Monday morning that no one is eager for a military ground incursion deep into the heart of Gaza but added that Israel would not allow the Strip to turn into south Lebanon. Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about the escalation in Gaza that "operations are now being undertaken with the recommendation of the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence bodies. These operations are of a much wider scale than they have been up until now. [Nevertheless], no one is eager for a deep ground operation throughout Gaza." The defense minister confirmed that the political echelon had approved a step-up in military operations against Palestinian organizations in Gaza - including the use of ground and air forces. Operations are also undergoing against the digging of tunnels in densely populated areas. "We will not approve the transformation of the Gaza Strip into south Lebanon," Peretz said. "From our perspective, we are done with the period when we made efforts to determine [which militant organization] fired each missile. We will strike out at everyone, and it doesn't matter what organization they belong to." He expressed hope that diplomatic overtures to the Palestinian Authority would moderate the escalation in Gaza. Also Monday, an Islamic Jihad militant was killed and another seriously wounded when the explosive device they were preparing near Khan Yunis prematurely exploded. Both the dead and the wounded were members of the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Devil's weed New campaign equates smoking pot with terrorism. Bad company A BBC poll says Israel world's most hated country after Iran.   1.   Two Militants? 09:16  |  Clickfool 17/10/06   2.   Response to Clickfool #1: Two Militants 10:16  |  Joanne 17/10/06   3.   #1 Militants 11:21  |  Ludwig 17/10/06   4.   Joanne 11:31  |  Gina 17/10/06   5.   Clickfool - watch your back 11:32  |  Gina 17/10/06   6.   Clickfool is amusement 11:35  |  Theodor 17/10/06   7.   ``only 18 years of age`` 11:41  |  Theodor 17/10/06   8.   CLICKFOOL#1.... THEY CAN KILL, NO ONE CHECK UP THEIR STORIES! 12:06  |  Messaoud 17/10/06   9.   Joanne, about "democracy" 12:10  |  Maral 17/10/06   10.   GINA 12:17  |  Joseph E . 17/10/06   11.   Clickfool and a bit of patience. 12:19  |  Bob 17/10/06   12.   Jews vs. Cick...s, Marilyns and Maur...ans of the world 12:26  |  Shlomzion 17/10/06   13.   `Yahweh` Must Be Happy 12:30  |  Paulo 17/10/06   14.   To Clickfool #1 as always 12:52  |  Bob 17/10/06   15.   THE "West Bank " is not a place, it`s JEUDEA AND SAMARIA 13:02  |  Like it is. 17/10/06   16.   Shame on you,Paulo! 13:06  |  Hastaroth 17/10/06   17.   Lands of Israel must be libirated from islamic occupation 13:07  |  Look in the mirror 17/10/06   18.   To Joanne #2 about Clickfool 13:07  |  Bob 17/10/06   19.   #9 Maral,inciting hatred is not freedom of speech 13:08  |  Hastaroth 17/10/06   20.   to joanne 13:09  |  * TALKBACK OBSERVER* 17/10/06   21.   Maral and freedom of not listening 13:10  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 17/10/06   22.   A question for Clickfool in Sus-sex 13:10  |  Hastaroth 17/10/06   23.   Jenin is the islamic settelment and is a occupied territory. 13:11  |  The only Truth 17/10/06   24.   Clickfool`s prescience 13:17  |  Jasmine Murphy 17/10/06   25.   to gina and josef e 13:18  |  * TALKBACK OBSERVER* 17/10/06   26.   to#13 Paulo, it`s not a game, it`s war 13:28  |  Maurice 17/10/06   27.   LIBIRATION OF JEUDEA AND SAMARIA FROM ISLAMIC OCCUPATION NOW 13:32  |  from here on 17/10/06   28.   # 1 was Fake Clickfool, but I go along with his sentiments 13:34  |  Clickfool 17/10/06   29.   To Paulo #13 13:34  |  Bob 17/10/06   30.   For Joanne # 2 13:36  |  Clickfool 17/10/06   31.   Clickfool, the best Israel P.R. 13:45  |  Jean 17/10/06   32.   Those, who throw stones at soldiers during battle... 13:46  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 17/10/06   33.   Hastaroth.. nonsense 13:49  |  Maral 17/10/06   34.   so the army murders and reports and teh murder 13:54  |  Irishman 17/10/06   35.   # 13 Paulo 13:56  |  Joseph E . 17/10/06   36.   to Paolo from Portugal 13:58  |  Paul 17/10/06   37.   Good old times are back.... 14:24  |  Ben 17/10/06   38.   Maral. I fully agree with you that freedom of speech is indeed 14:30  |  Shlomzion 17/10/06   39.   In war there are casualties 15:11  |  Arik 17/10/06   40.   To Joanne 15:23  |  Fletch 17/10/06   41.   Joanne answers TALKBACK OBSERVER #20 15:26  |  Joanne 17/10/06   42.   Alternative caption to photo 15:38  |  human animal 17/10/06   43.   clickfool 15:40  |  Jasmine Murphy 17/10/06   44.   CRIMINAL MURDERERS OF CHILDREN.... THEY ALWAYS AIM AT THE HEAD 15:43  |  Messaoud 17/10/06   45.   Trigger Happy Cowboys ..... 15:56  |  Fletch 17/10/06   46.   When will daily executions stop? 16:00  |  Ziad 17/10/06   47.   to#44 Messaoud, sorrow about israeli victims 16:05  |  Maurice 17/10/06   48.   re: Bob #29 16:18  |  Paulo 17/10/06   49.   For Jasmine Murphy # 43 16:19  |  Clickfool 17/10/06   50.   re: Joseph E #35 16:31  |  Paulo 17/10/06   51.   clickfool 16:35  |  alan 17/10/06   52.   re: Paul #36 16:45  |  Paulo 17/10/06   53.   Joanne in Israel; Free speech is a two way street 16:47  |  Ziad 17/10/06   54.   re: Hastaroth #19 16:50  |  Paulo 17/10/06   55.   Paulo: Pals are trained in hatred 17:02  |  Jasmine Murphy 17/10/06   56.   Shlomzion, the consequences 17:04  |  Maral 17/10/06   57.   to Fletch #45 17:05  |  Ilya 17/10/06   58.   Paulo 52 17:06  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 17/10/06   59.   Joanne to Talkback Observer 17:14  |  Maral 17/10/06   60.   To Ilya 17:16  |  Fletch 17/10/06   61.   To Ilya again 17:19  |  Fletch 17/10/06   62.   Joanne 17:29  |  bev 17/10/06   63.   Congratulations again, IDF 17:38  |  KUTW 17/10/06   64.   Paolo and homocide