Palestinian gunman killed by Israeli army in West Bank

Source: Xinhua | 02-02-2009 17:44

JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian gunman was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the West Bank, local daily Ha'aretz reported on its website.

Palestinian militants shot at IDF soldiers in the Hebron Hills in the West Bank on Monday morning and the IDF subsequently returned fire, hitting one of the gunmen, said the report.

None of the IDF soldiers was wounded in the gunfight, which took place near the West Bank settlement of Beit Yatir, the report added.

Meanwhile, Israel Army Radio reported that after the exchange of fire, the IDF soldiers began conducting searches in the area for possible additional gunmen.

Sappers were also called to the scene to check whether the car in which the gunmen arrived was booby-trapped, according to the radio.

The incident was the latest in a recent upsurge of attacks in the West Bank following the 22-day IDF operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which came to an end on Jan. 18.

The operation, dubbed Cast Lead, began on Dec. 27, killing about 1,400 Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave. On the Israeli side, 13 people were killed during the operation.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei