At least three die in Mideast violence
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian militant leader during an operation in the West Bank early Tuesday, Israeli military sources said.
In another incident Tuesday, suspected Palestinian mortar fire killed two workers and wounded five others in greenhouses at the Gaza settlement of Ganei Tal, Israeli military sources said.
One of the victims was Palestinian and the other was Chinese. The incident was one of three attacks in which six mortar rounds were fired into Israel and two Gaza settlements, the sources said.
In the West Bank incident, soldiers entered the northern town of Qabatiya to arrest Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, according to Israeli military sources.
They said the soldiers were fired on when they surrounded a house and called on the militants to come out.
Israeli military sources said it was during an exchange of gunfire that soldiers shot and killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant they had come to arrest.
Palestinian security sources identified him as Marwah Kamil abu Zid. The Israeli sources did not name him.
The Palestinian sources said a 25-year-old civilian, Nasser Zakarneh, also was killed.
Israeli sources said only that soldiers shot at an armed man during the exchange and an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded.
The Israeli sources said the other militants in the house gave up and soldiers found two guns during a search of the house.
According to the Palestinian version, Israeli soldiers opened fire after surrounding the house.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel. It operates out of Gaza and carries out attacks in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. The U.S. State Department labels it a terrorist organization.
In still another incident Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said the Palestinian militant group Hamas fired three Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot just north of Gaza, one of which struck a house. Two people suffered shock-related injuries, the IDF said.
Since the beginning of May, Palestinian militants have fired 12 makeshift rockets toward the town.
Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group. It Both Israel and the U.S. State Department label it a terrorist organization.
Its Qassam missile is named after the group's military wing, which has admitted launching terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and the Israeli military.
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to a truce in February. Palestinian militants then declared a temporary cease-fire March 17.
CNN's Shira Medding contributed to this report.
