IDF kills Jihad operative in W. Bank

Troops surrounded house near Tulkarem; operative refused to surrender, and died in ensuing gunfight.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
IDF arrest 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
IDF arrest 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
IDF troops killed an Islamic Jihad operative in a predawn gunbattle in the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian medics and witnesses said. Troops surrounded a house in the village of Saida, near Tulkarem, and demanded that its occupants come out, according to resident Abdel Karim Hammad, whose family lives in the house. Saleh Karkur, 27, a wanted Islamic Jihad gunman who was staying with the family, refused to come out, a gunfight erupted, and Karkur was shot and killed, Hammad said. The Israelis then demolished half of the house and arrested Hammad's father for harboring a wanted gunman, he said. Palestinian medics said they took the man's body from the scene. The IDF confirmed that the troops were trying to arrest a high-ranking commander in the village, and opened fire only when the man refused to surrender and began shooting at them. In Gaza, Islamic Jihad released a statement saying Karkur was one of the group's top West Bank commanders and threatened to avenge his death.