Gunmen Kill Settler in West Bank as Israelis Raid Gaza

[wellst0nev0ter]

Aug. 29 — Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli settler and wounded his pregnant wife on the West Bank today, as Israeli forces raided the northern Gaza Strip for a second day, bulldozing orchards and brush in a declared reprisal for Palestinian rocket fire.

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Pinhas Wallerstein, a settler leader, told Israeli radio that the two Israelis attacked today had just dropped off a year-old child and were on their way to observe the Sabbath with family when they came under fire. The man who was killed was identified as Shalom Harmelech, 25. His wife, in her seventh month of pregnancy, underwent an emergency Caesarean section and delivered a healthy baby girl, hospital officials said. The woman was expected to recover from her wounds.

Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a violent offshoot of the Fatah faction of Mr. Abbas and Yasir Arafat, took responsibility for the shooting, which took place northeast of Ramallah.

Silvan Shalom, the Israeli foreign minister, said Israel would respond to the attack, which he said demonstrated that "the Palestinians even now are not willing to do anything to put an end to the terrorism."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/30/international/middleeast/30MIDE.html