Israel troops say kill Palestinian in WBank

NABLUS, West Bank, Sep 19 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers shot and killed a member of the Islamist Hamas group during a raid today in the occupied West Bank, local hospital staff said.

The Israeli army said troops shot a gunman on the second day of an operation against militants in al-Ein refugee camp in the city of Nablus.

Hospital staff named the dead man as Adeeb e-Sleem, 28, a Hamas activist in Nablus.

Family members said he had been unarmed and looking out of the window of his house at the time of the attack. They said e-Sleem had been disabled during a 2001 Israeli air strike in Nablus.

Yesterday, an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian militant were killed in fighting in the same area.

E-Sleem was the fifth Palestinian to be killed in clashes in the West Bank in the past four days. Israel has said all the dead were gunmen.

REUTERS SG BD1828