THE MIDDLE EAST: An Israeli army raid near the West Bank city of Nablus yesterday, in which a soldier and two senior members of the militant Hamas movement were killed, punctured the quietest month since the Palestinian uprising erupted in September 2000.
In northern Israel, more than six months of quiet in a disputed area along the Israel-Lebanon border was shattered yesterday when Hizbullah guerillas shelled Israeli positions there.
The West Bank raid began before dawn when an Israeli naval commando unit moved into the Askar refugee camp near Nablus to arrest two militants. Troops surrounded a building and demanded that senior Hamas activist Mr Hamis Abu Salem surrender.
Palestinians inside opened fire from the third floor, killing the soldier, Staff Sgt Roi Oren (20). Soldiers returned fire at the third floor, which caused a series of blasts, killing Mr Abu Salem (22) and destroying part of the building.
The army said fire by soldiers had apparently hit an explosives workshop inside the building. Soldiers later found the body of a second Hamas man, Mr Faiz A-Sadar (26), in the rubble.
Israeli defence sources said the two men were responsible for making bombs and recruiting suicide bombers, and were planning an attack inside Israel in the coming days. But senior military officials have said in recent days that Hamas has stuck to the temporary ceasefire declared by militant groups on June 29th, and was not planning suicide attacks, for now. Israeli officials say, however, that the group has used the ceasefire to rearm and regroup.
The truce has brought a dramatic drop in violence. But Israeli forces have continued to operate in the West Bank since it was declared, arresting militants there in overnight raids.
Doctors said a third Palestinian died of his wounds after being hit when soldiers fired at stone-throwers during the raid. He was named as Mr Mohammed Dak (20).
The killing of the two Hamas men sparked calls by movement leaders for an end to the truce. Senior Hamas official Mr Ismail Abu Shanab said in Gaza that Israel "should bear responsibility for this attack and all of its consequences". But movement leaders stopped short of saying the truce was off.
In the north, Israeli artillery and fighter planes hit Hizbullah positions in southern Lebanon after the Shia group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, shelled Israeli soldiers in the Shebaa Farm area, known in Israel as Mount Dov.
Israeli soldiers have been on alert in the north ever since a Hizbullah official, Mr Ali Hussein Saleh, was killed when his car blew up on the southern outskirts of Beirut last Saturday. Hizbullah accused Israel of assassinating Mr Saleh and said yesterday's shelling was in retaliation for his death.
The last time Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farm area were shelled by Hizbullah was on January 21st this year. There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side in the one-hour exchange of fire.
Israel pulled out of Lebanon in May 2000 and withdrew to border lines recognised by the United Nations. But Hizbullah has claimed the Shebaa Farm area is conquered Lebanese territory. The UN ruled it was Syrian land conquered by Israel in 1967, and its future therefore had to be determined in negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus.