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Border policemen detain Palestinian youths during an IDF raid in Nablus on Sunday. (Reuters)
Last update - 02:11 26/02/2007
Body of Israeli found near Hebron, police suspect stabbing
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and The Associated Press

Security forces found the body of an Israeli civilian late Sunday night near Beit Omar, north of the West Bank city of Hebron. The man apparently died as a result of repeated stab wounds.

The victim, who is roughly 40 years old, was found near a spring and has been identified as a resident of one of the settlements of Gush Etzion, who had been missing since late Sunday afternoon.

Police are investigating whether the murder was a terrorist or a criminal act, but say terrorism is more likely.
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At about 10 P.M., Palestinians reported to police that the man's body had been seen between the settlement of Bat Ayin West in Gush Etzion and the Palestinian village of Beit Omar.

The man apparently sustained stab wounds all over his body, and his vehicle was later found overturned nearby.

A large number of police and Israel Defense Forces troops conducted searches in nearby villages in an attempt to locate the attackers.

Earlier Sunday, an IDF patrol operating in the West Bank city of Nablus uncovered an explosives laboratory containing six bombs and a handheld missile stolen from the IDF.

This is the second explosives factory the IDF has found in two days during a broad operation against terrorist organizations in the city. Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded Sunday morning during the raid.

The operation, which began before dawn on Sunday in the city's casbah, targets several organizations with military capability that the IDF believes may improve. The soldiers were wounded in the casbah, and officials said several Palestinians were also lightly injured.

Elite Nahal and Golani battalions are participating in the operation along with two additional infantry battalions.

Witnesses said dozens of IDF jeeps and armored vehicles raided the city center.

They said troops placed about 50,000 people under curfew in the center of Nablus and closed the main entrance to the city.

Schools and a university in the city announced that they had canceled studies due to the curfew.

The army also took over local television and radio stations, ordering people to remain indoors and warning residents that the clampdown would remain in effect for several days, Palestinian residents said.

On Saturday, the IDF uncovered an explosives lab in the city. Among the items found were pipe bombs, gas balloons and materials for producing explosive charges. Sappers detonated the explosive devices.

The army also said soldiers had been shot at in several places and returned fire.

Palestinian officials condemned the raid, saying it threatened Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to restart peace talks with Israel.

"We condemn this military incursion," said Saeb Erekat, a confidante to Abbas. "This will undermine the efforts that are being made to sustain the cease-fire with Israel."

In the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials said the Israeli raid was undermining the Palestinian unity efforts.

"We question why these military campaigns are increasing now, said Ghazi Hamad," spokesman for the Hamas-led government. "This indicates the Israeli government is trying to turn what was agreed upon in Mecca into a failure."

The Israeli forces began moving into Nablus at about 3 a.m. and continued to move in for several hours, Palestinian witnesses said. They said about 80 military vehicles, along with several bulldozers, were in the city.

The bulldozers erected huge piles of rubble to block movement on main roads, witnesses said. The main entrance to the city also was closed.

Witnesses said soldiers moved from door to door in Nablus' Old City, or casbah, entering homes in search of suspects.

At one point, soldiers forced a Palestinian youth to lead a small group of soldiers up some stairs and into a home ahead of the forces. The soldiers then took the youth, along with several young Palestinian men, into a military vehicle.

The army had no immediate comment on Sunday's incident, which was filmed by AP Television News.

While the operation largely shut down Nablus, sporadic clashes were reported. Soldiers were pelted with stones and cement blocks, and exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen, the army said.

The army responded to the protests with rubber bullets and stun grenades, witnesses said. In one incident, soldiers entered a cemetery to search for Palestinians who had pelted their vehicle with stones.

Palestinian medical officials said four Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets during Sunday's unrest
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  1.   once confirmed... 08:01  |  vik 25/02/07
  2.   invading cities, imposing curfews, murdering and raping people 08:07  |  Foreign witness 25/02/07
  3.   hey #2 08:49  |  vik 25/02/07
  4.   This is the price of perpetrating terror!!! People 08:57  |  Liora 25/02/07
  5.   Foreign Witness 09:01  |  Proud Zionist 25/02/07
  6.   If the laboratory for making explosives was "EXPLODED BY BOMBING" 09:10  |  Vittorio 25/02/07
  7.   Good job IDF - thank you for keeping Israel safe! 09:14  |  Roni 25/02/07
  8.   #2 ALL THIS IN THE SPACE OF ONE NIGHT ??? 09:20  |  paul harris 25/02/07
  9.   Foreign witness = Liar 09:34  |  JonathanInTelAviv 25/02/07
  10.   Any chance at Independence 10:15  |  Jared 25/02/07
  11.   IDF targets ALL! 10:15  |  Tanja 25/02/07
  12.   50,000 Terrorists? 10:18  |  JW 25/02/07
  13.   Over the top as usual. 10:53  |  Deborah 25/02/07
  14.   Moderate Palestinians - Tanja 11:02  |  Johnny 25/02/07
  15.   Re #1 and #2 11:16  |  Michael 25/02/07
  16.   #12, don`t play coy 11:44  |  Michael 25/02/07
  17.   Thank you, thank you very much the soldiers 12:04  |  Shmuel Berkowitz 25/02/07
  18.   #13, over the top? nonsense. 12:20  |  Michael 25/02/07
  19.   Israil raid nablus. 12:49  |  paulo 25/02/07
  20.   under curfew for their own protection 12:49  |  Rose 25/02/07
  21.   Paulo, what will the world do? 13:10  |  Michael 25/02/07
  22.   Paulo - Are you the same one who does not 13:23  |  Elisha 25/02/07
  23.   Paulo - Are you poster # 2? 13:40  |  Elisha 25/02/07
  24.   Paulo is Right..However 13:55  |  Darwish 25/02/07
  25.   To Rose 14:02  |  Darwish 25/02/07
  26.   # 2 - As a local witness I must tell you, what you 14:04  |  Local Witness 25/02/07
  27.   MOSSAD PLANTED THESE EXPLOSIVES 14:23  |  Robert 25/02/07
  28.   Tanya: and you`re an army general, right? 14:37  |  Richard S 25/02/07
  29.   Foreign witness:lions, tigers and rapes, oh my! 14:38  |  Richard S 25/02/07
  30.   foreign witness#2 14:48  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  31.   Israel is a rogue state 14:48  |  Mitchum 25/02/07
  32.   to tanja 14:53  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  33.   to JW 14:55  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  34.   deborah #13 14:59  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  35.   13#again 15:02  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  36.   to that idiot darwish in #25 15:07  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  37.   Who else is going to fight terrorism?ABBAS? 15:07  |  Ian 25/02/07
  38.   robert 15:10  |  alonitzafoni 25/02/07
  39.   IDF uses children as human sheilds 15:39  |  steven 25/02/07
  40.   The person from Rodckford, IL, I just wanted to 15:40  |  Jewish Climatologist 25/02/07
  41.   Israel using human sheilds 15:40  |  David 25/02/07
  42.   "Final Solution" Mitchum? 15:49  |  Michael 25/02/07
  43.   Where is Mahmoud Abbas? 15:56  |  Johnny Weintraub 25/02/07
  44.   counting 15:59  |  dierre 25/02/07
  45.   Israel has the right,but it should be careful 16:01  |  Dimitri 25/02/07
  46.   REPLY TO FOREIGN WITNESS 16:01  |  SAB SHAMASH 25/02/07
  47.   Darwish 16:03  |  rose 25/02/07
  48.   Do you believe this!!!! 16:17  |  Frank 25/02/07
  49.   NABLUS 16:28  |  GL 25/02/07
  50.   tanja in a perfect world 16:31  |  bev 25/02/07
  51.   The Palestinian condemnation is specially ridiculous. 16:45  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 25/02/07
  52.   To #9 Jonathan: You are right. "Foreign Witness" (#2) is a LIAR, 16:49  |  Vittorio 25/02/07
  53.   Look at this paulo (#19) . IDF prevented the death of innocent 16:54  |  Vittorio 25/02/07
  54.   alonitzafoni 17:00  |  Robert 25/02/07
  55.   RE: IDF TARGETS ALL 17:20  |  A 25/02/07
  56.   THIS G-D FORBID COULD BE ......... 17:45  |  emess 25/02/07
  57.   Snivelling, whining child abusers 18:12  |  Marilyn 25/02/07
  58.   Ghazi Hamad`s Comment 18:13  |  Jeff Northridge 25/02/07
  59.   To #51 18:19  |  Frank 25/02/07
  60.   Brilliant Preventative Work IDF Bravo! 18:33  |  Jane 25/02/07
  61.   Bombs and Human Shields 18:34  |  Abe 25/02/07
  62.   IDF troops use civilians as human shields 18:35  |  Al 25/02/07
  63.   #57 Marilyn, did you even read the headline of the article? 18:38  |  Michael 25/02/07
  64.   #2 Foreign witness is upset, poor 18:40  |  TOMY 25/02/07
  65.   #41 hey brother they are using 18:41  |  bass 25/02/07
  66.   Hey Al, that is definately a double standard 18:43  |  JDM 25/02/07
  67.   THE ARABS ARE BUILDING BOMBS 18:46  |  TOMY 25/02/07
  68.   lets face 18:47  |  mo 25/02/07
  69.   IDF troops use civilians as human shields 18:50  |  Al 25/02/07
  70.   Palestinian claims 18:53  |  hadag nakhash 25/02/07
  71.   TOMY---Did read the article???? 19:01  |  Abe