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 At least three other Palestinians in Qalandia refugee camp, near
the West Bank city of Ramallah, were wounded in what was the
fiercest armed confrontation in a seven-week-old surge of violence.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the incident would not make
Israel rethink the demolitions policy, revived with the permission
of Israel's Supreme Court but criticized by civil rights groups that
deem it collective punishment.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyal al-Maliki, speaking on Voice of
Palestine radio, described the Qalandia incident as "clear
escalation, clear assassination" by Israel.
Israel said its troops had come under attack while razing the home
of a Palestinian who killed an Israeli hiker in the West Bank in
June.
"There was, indeed, violent resistance in Qalandia, but the (Israeli
military) unit conducted itself in a very professional manner. It
also carried out the mission, blowing up the home. It also hit the
gunmen -- four of them, according to the unit," Yaalon told Israel
Radio.
Asked whether the incident might make Israel think twice about such
demolitions, Yaalon said: "Under no circumstances ... There is no
doubt fear of a home getting destroyed is a measure that offers
great deterrence."
On Sunday, Israel's Shin Bet security service said it detained a
Palestinian for killing two Jewish settlers in the West Bank last
week after his relatives, "worried their home might be demolished",
turned him in.
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Since Oct. 1, Israeli forces have killed at least 78 Palestinians,
45 of whom Israel says were carrying out or were about to commit
attacks. At least 14 Israelis have been killed in stabbings and
shootings, or by being run down by cars.
The bloodshed has been fueled by a dispute over access to a site in
Jerusalem holy to both Muslims and Jews, as well as by the deadlock
in Palestinian statehood talks.
Last month, masked gunmen in Qalandia, some of them wearing
military-style fatigues and identifying with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, warned Israel against trying to raze
the home of jailed resident Muhammad Abu Shaheen.
"This house will be destroyed only over the bodies of 30,000 people
living in this refugee camp," one of the armed men, surrounded by
cheering supporters, told Israel's Channel 2 TV.
(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by
Dan Williams; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Catherine Evans)
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