An Israeli occupation soldier and a Palestinian resistance man were killed in a gun battle near the West Bank city of Tulkarm on Wednesday in what the occupation army said was an ongoing series of Israeli raids in pursuit of resistance activists. Islamic Jihad, one of the main groups behind a wave of resistance bombings against Israelis during a 29-month-old Palestinian uprising for independence, said its fighters were involved in the clash.

In nearby Qalqilya, Palestinians said occupation soldiers shot and wounded six people, including two members of the mainstream Fatah faction.

Palestinian witnesses said several arrests were made when occupation troops in uniform and plain clothes surrounded the entrance to an office building in the center of the city.

A Palestinian activist was also arrested in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Hamas Accuses Israel of Assassination Plans

A representative of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas told Reuters in Beirut that the group had information that Israel was planning to kill its political leaders abroad.

An Israeli helicopter strike on Saturday killed top military strategist Ibrahim al-Maqadma in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas vowed to avenge the killing by targeting Israeli political leaders.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

A news photographer snaps pictures of a car on fire, blown up by Israeli forces near the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, Wednesday, March 12, 2003. (AP Photo/Ni