Israel kills militant from Abbas's Fatah movement

By Atef Sa'ad

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement on Friday on the second day of a large-scale military raid targeting armed loyalists of the Western-backed leader.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has accused Israel of trying to undermine Abbas's emergency cabinet by conducting the raid despite the Palestinian leader's vows to take his own steps to disarm gunmen.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers had shot the Palestinian as he fled from troops in a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Officials of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah said the 28-year-old militant had belonged to their group, and that Israeli soldiers had shot him as he fled arrest. Medics confirmed he had been killed.

Israel launched the raid on Thursday, sending in 50 armored vehicles to the Nablus area. Troops clamped a curfew on the city centre and conducted house-to-house searches for militants suspected of involvement in violence against Israel.

The Israeli raid signaled the Jewish state would continue to pursue Fatah militants despite its pledges to bolster Abbas as he tries to stabilize his hold in the West Bank after Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

In fighting on Thursday, Israel fired rubber coated steel bullets that injured seven Palestinians, and five Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the violence, Israeli and Palestinian security sources said.

Soldiers also arrested nine Palestinians after finding a bomb production facility in Nablus, the Israeli army said.