Israel renews blockade of Palestinian cities
Israel has renewed its blockade of several West Bank cities in response to a spate of killings of Israelis by Palestinian militants this week.
A Palestinian militia leader wanted by Israel was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops, the Israeli military says.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, a radical PLO faction protesting the detention of its leader threatened to attack senior Palestinian security officials if more arrests were made.
"We will get to them (the security officials), regardless of how many guards they surround themselves with," the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in a leaflet.
The violence and new Israeli blockades represent a further deterioration of an informal cease-fire and easing of restrictions that followed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's December 16 declaration that he would enforce a truce with Israel.
Israel's security Cabinet met and approved a decision by Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to seal the West Bank cities of Qalqilya, Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus.
Palestinians say Israel also closed Bethlehem, barring Palestinians from entering or leaving. The army says Bethlehem was not sealed.
Israel has enforced stringent travel bans on Palestinians since the outbreak of fighting in September 2000. For much of this time, Palestinians have been barred from leaving their communities, which are ringed by Israeli roadblocks. Israel says the restrictions are necessary to keep suspected militants out of Israel.
The restrictions were eased slightly after Arafat's truce announcement.
The blockades were renewed after three civilians - an American man, an Israeli woman and a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem - were killed in Palestinian shooting attacks this week.
