1 Palestinian Slain, 3 Injured in Israeli Undercover Raid

Soldiers in an Israeli army undercover unit opened fire in a clash with residents of this village Tuesday, killing one Palestinian and wounding three others, the army said.

The deadly confrontation in Hizma, northeast of Jerusalem, seemed likely to heighten tensions between Palestinians and Israelis on the eve of an expected Israeli government announcement that it will begin building the controversial Har Homa housing project on the edge of East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while avoiding setting a date for the start of construction, has given every indication that his government will proceed with development of 6,500 homes for Jews on Har Homa, a hill southeast of Jerusalem that is called Jabal Abu Ghneim by Arabs. A government committee is expected to approve the plans today.

But Palestinian leaders warn that a decision to proceed with this project may touch off renewed violence, and they accuse Israel of trying to encircle East Jerusalem with Jewish neighborhoods.

It was not immediately clear what sparked Tuesday’s shooting in Hizma, a village in which the interim peace agreements have left Palestinians responsible for civil affairs and Israelis in charge of security. Also unclear was the nature of the injuries, with the army saying that those hurt were all shot, while villagers and hospital officials said two appeared to have been beaten.

The army said the undercover unit entered the village, then was surrounded by stone-throwing Palestinians and fired in self-defense. Villagers said the three soldiers, dressed in civilian clothes, entered Hizma in an apparent search for a suspect, then beat one young man and shot and killed his father-in-law before wounding others.

Ali Mutlaq Salaheddin, 46, said he was shot in the leg while trying to persuade the Israelis not to shoot his nephew, Hamzi Naif Mubarak, 22, who was being held face down on the ground behind his home.

“I said in Hebrew: ‘There’s no problem. Let him free and just leave here,’ ” Salaheddin said as he sat on a pad in his home several hours after the incident, his bandaged, bloodied leg stretched out before him. But he said that when he approached the men, raising his hands over his head, they fired, hitting him in the knee.

Salaheddin said the man killed was Mubarak’s father-in-law, Mohammed Abdul Aziz Hilawi, 56, who was shot in both legs, apparently as he too tried to help his son-in-law. And several villagers, including Salaheddin, said they saw one of the three Israelis sitting on Hilawi’s back as the man lay hurt on the ground.

Jumaa Mutaweh, 42, said he saw the soldier speaking into a walkie-talkie as he sat astride Hilawi, saying, in Hebrew, “I have a criminal here.” Mutaweh said Hilawi was then carried to an army jeep and may have been injured further when the vehicle lurched backward, pinning his legs between it and a rock behind it.

“It was not on purpose, but they were in a hurry,” Mutaweh said. Hilawi died a short time later at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital.

Officials at Ramallah Hospital said two of those involved in the incident were beaten, including Mubarak and a woman identified as Abir Mohammed Abdul Aziz. Both were released after being treated.

Soon after the incident, the army declared the village a closed military area and fired a number of sound grenades, apparently to stop residents from protesting the shooting. The villagers said about 10 young men were detained.