Palestinian woman killed during Israeli West Bank raid
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A Palestinian woman was shot and killed Tuesday during an Israeli incursion into the West Bank city of Jenin.
It was unclear whether gunfire from Palestinians or Israeli forces killed the 25-year-old woman and mother of two.
Palestinian security sources said Dalal Shihadeh died during an Israeli military operation aimed at arresting Anas Hifnawi, a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Israel Defense Forces said a heavy exchange of fire occurred but it was trying to determine whether the woman was killed by Israelis or Palestinians.
Palestinian sources said Shihadeh was shot in her home after Israeli elite troops entered Jenin and surrounded Hifnawi's nearby residence. They said Israeli tanks and helicopters began firing indiscriminately.
A bullet struck Shihadeh in the back, and she died before arriving at a hospital, Palestinian medical and security sources said.
Three others were wounded in the raid, including a journalist, according to the medical sources.
The IDF said Palestinian gunmen opened fire from various directions at troops and also at an IDF ambulance. Rounds hit the ambulance, and Israeli forces returned fire, according to the IDF.
The IDF said an "Islamic Jihad terrorist" and "three wanted Palestinians" were arrested in the raid, including one who was armed with a pistol. Palestinian security sources said that Hifnawi and four others with no political affiliation were arrested.
Israeli troops later withdrew from the city.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel. It has launched terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and on Israeli military targets.
In the wake of a February 22 suicide bombing that killed eight people on a Jerusalem bus, Israel said it has been conducting military operations in Palestinian areas. The operations target those who may be planning new terror attacks, according to the Israelis.
On Sunday, Israeli forces raided two central Gaza refugee camps, killing at least 14 Palestinians -- including several boys -- and wounding about 50 others, according to Palestinian witnesses and security and medical sources. ( Full story)
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Batsheva Genut accused Palestinian militants of using civilians as "human shields."
Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Hakam Balaawi described the Israeli operations as an escalation that hinders the "road map" to Mideast peace.
The plan -- backed by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- calls for a cease-fire and other steps by both sides aimed at ending the conflict and establishing an independent Palestinian state by 2005.
CNN's Sausan Ghosheh and Shira Medding contributed to this report.
