Israeli Settler Killed; Troops Draw Fire

Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank killed an Israeli settler Friday near Ramallah and exchanged fire with troops in Jenin.

Shalom Har-Melech was killed and his pregnant wife, Limor, was seriously wounded when gunmen fired at them and caused their vehicle to overturn, officials said.

She later gave birth by caesarean section to a healthy daughter, hospital officials said. Surgeons then operated on her injuries.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the slaying. The group is loosely affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction.

Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted Jewish settlers traveling on West Bank roads.

In Jenin, Palestinians fired on Israeli soldiers manning a lookout in a four-story office building, setting off intense gun battles, residents said.

Eight tanks and armored vehicles moved in and drove back the gunmen with tank-mounted machine guns before picking up the soldiers from the lookout and moving out of the town, witnesses said. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, a senior official in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said Friday that Sharon had suggested to visiting U.S. lawmakers that the United States pressure the Palestinian Authority by linking U.S. aid to a crackdown on armed groups such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Hamas.

But Palestinian Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib said: “Our experience shows that the more economic hardship you see, the more you see extremism. It would definitely backfire.”