Palestinians say Israeli raids hampering renewal of peace

"Unfortunately, Israel continues with its assassinations," Qureia said at the weekly Palestinian Cabinet meeting. "It is therefore sending a clear message that it does not want to give a chance for things to quiet down and bring the [peace] process back on track," he said.

However, Israeli officials rejected Qureia's comments, saying that while
Israel has promised not to initiate any new military offensives, it would
continue to go after Palestinians it believes are planning attacks.

"These raids were carried out based on specific intelligence that these men were planning on carrying out suicide bombings, " a senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Early on Saturday Israel Defense Forces troops arrested the Tul Karm Hamas military wing leader Rami Teikh as well as two other wanted militants.

Teikh was identified by security sources as head of the Hamas armed wing in Tul Karm. He was been wanted by Israel since 2002.

Witnesses said IDF troops surrounded an apartment building in Tul Karm and took Teikh into custody. "Don't kill him, we need him alive," one resident quoted a soldier as telling his comrades.

According to the IDF, Teikh, 26, was responsible for carrying out an infiltration into the Avnei Hefetz settlement in March of this year, in which one man was killed and his daughter was wounded.

Teikh also tried to dispatch a number of terrorists into Israel in an effort to carry out terror attacks in Netanya, Jerusalem, and IDF checkpoints.

Teikh, sources said, has evaded capture in recent years by hiding out among the local populace and moving from place to place disguised as a woman.

A member of the militant Islamic Jihad group and the owner of the apartment where Teikh was hiding were also taken into custody in the raid. Troops found two automatic rifles, a pistol and ammunition at the hideout, security sources said.

Erekat condemns IDF killing of wanted Islamic Jihad militant
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat condemned the killing of a wanted Islamic Jihad man in the West Bank by the IDF on Friday, saying it "undermines the efforts we're exerting" to reach a truce with militants.

IDF troops shot and killed the militant during an arrest raid in the West Bank before dawn Friday.

The troops surrounded the house where Mahmoud Hamed Kamil, 27, was staying, in the village of Raba southwest of Jenin, and instructed him to come out.

They shot Kamil, who was armed with a pistol, when he tried to escape, the IDF said.

"Soldiers called out for occupants of a house which they suspected contained wanted men to come out," an IDF spokeswoman said. "The man was shot after he was spotted carrying a weapon as he tried to escape."

Security forces said Kamil has been involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks, Israel Radio reported.

Also in the West Bank, security forces arrested eight Palestinian suspects overnight.

Navy nabs Palestinians on surfboard
Israel Navy soldiers arrested two Palestinians paddling on a surfboard toward a forbidden offshore zone opposite the Gaza Strip settlement area of Gush Katif on Friday morning.

The IDF said the two were arrested after they had already entered the forbidden zone and were making a second attempt to enter the area.

Security sources said it is possible the two men were testing the alert level and preparedness of naval and ground forces in the area.

Earlier in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired mortar shells at two settlements, one in the north of the Strip and one in the south, Israel Radio reported Friday. There were no casualties.

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