Israeli forces enter Jericho
Military sources: Member of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades killed
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli forces made an incursion Sunday morning into the West Bank town of Jericho, engaging in a gunfight with Palestinians before bulldozing a house and killing a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Israeli military sources said.
Two Palestinians were also shot and wounded, the sources said.
A small Israeli army force entered Jericho about 5 a.m. (10 p.m. Saturday ET) to arrest a number of Palestinians suspected by Israel of planning an attack in the near future, the sources said.
The last time Israeli forces entered Jericho was in July.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed that two Palestinians were moderately wounded, but could not confirm the death
According to the military sources, the Israeli force circled a house containing several armed Palestinians -- including a Palestinian wanted by the Israelis. The Palestinians inside the house and Israeli forces exchanged fire.
Two armed Palestinians emerged from the house and both were shot and wounded by Israeli troops, the sources said.
The Israelis called for the wanted Palestinian to surrender, but he did not leave the house, the sources said.
At that point, the Israeli force began demolishing the house and found his body in the rubble.
The Israeli troops also arrested four other Palestinian suspects.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the Israeli forces confined the city's residents to their homes on the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, a main Muslim holiday.
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, has carried out numerous attacks against Israeli civilians and military targets. The U.S. State Department designates it a foreign terrorist organization.
