W. Bank Settler Slain in Ambush

A Palestinian gunman ambushed and killed an Israeli father of seven Friday as he patrolled the perimeter of his isolated Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank. The assailant was swiftly shot dead by other members of the settlement’s security squad.

Itamar, where the shootings took place, has been a hot spot for violence through nearly four years of conflict. Just south of the volatile Palestinian city of Nablus, it is known as one of the most hard-line of the West Bank settlements, populated mainly by ultranationalist Jews who say they will never relinquish land they believe is theirs by biblical birthright.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed militia loosely linked to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group also claimed responsibility for an abortive attempt Wednesday to smuggle a large bomb into Jerusalem for a suicide attack. The attackers detonated the device after being spotted by Israeli security forces at a military checkpoint outside the city. Two Palestinians died in the blast and 19 Palestinians and Israelis were wounded.

The Israeli killed at Itamar was identified as Shlomo Miller, 50, the settlement’s security coordinator. The gunman, Yusuf Hanani, was a member of the Palestinian security forces who lived in the nearby village of Beit Furik, Israeli radio reported.

The Israeli military said Hanani, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, positioned himself near one of Itamar’s gates and waited for a patrol vehicle from the settlement’s security squad to drive past. Miller’s fellow guards rushed to the scene after hearing the volley of shots and fatally wounded the gunman.

Itamar is emblematic of the difficulties faced by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is under heavy U.S. pressure to dismantle illegal settlement outposts.

Israeli human rights groups say the settlement has been among the most prolific producers of such offshoots and is considered a touchstone for extremist settlers known as the “hilltop youth,” who have vowed to resist evacuation efforts with force.

Palestinian militants have repeatedly tried to infiltrate the settlement. In June 2002, a woman and three of her children were killed in one such attack.

Itamar is also known for blood feuds with its Palestinian neighbors. Human rights groups have repeatedly documented instances of settlers from Itamar and its outposts destroying Palestinian olive groves and beating and shooting at farmers from nearby villages.

Itamar is not among the four West Bank settlements Sharon has earmarked for evacuation. But this week Ehud Olmert, the deputy prime minister, said Israel would have to give up many more West Bank settlements.

Remote settlements such as Itamar are thought to be much more likely to be relinquished by Israel than large settlement blocs close to Jerusalem.

Aides to Sharon described him as infuriated by Olmert’s remarks. However, the prime minister has used his deputy, a close political ally, to publicly float proposals, such as Sharon’s initiative to withdraw troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip.