2 Palestinians, 1 Israeli Slain as Tensions Climb

Two Palestinian militants were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip and an Israeli soldier was fatally stabbed at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem on Thursday amid flaring tensions after a suicide bombing in Israel this week.

The Palestinian men, identified by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade as members, were killed by missile fire at a house on the eastern fringe of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. A third man was wounded, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military said the chief target of the airstrike was Iyad Qadas, a senior militant organizer who had served as an aide to an Al Aqsa leader who last month was also slain in an Israeli missile attack. The other man killed Thursday was Iyad Najar, Palestinian officials said. A third member of the militia, identified as Hader Rayan, was wounded.

The Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Nir Khana, was stabbed in the neck by a Palestinian man who brandished a knife after arriving at the often-tense Kalandiya checkpoint between the north end of Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. The attacker, whose motive was not immediately clear, was arrested.

The deaths occurred as Israeli forces lobbed artillery shells and launched missiles from warplanes into the northern Gaza Strip to quell rocket salvos by Palestinian fighters.

Violence in the Gaza Strip has escalated since a suicide bomber affiliated with Islamic Jihad killed five Israelis and injured dozens outside a shopping center in Israel on Monday.

The Jewish state vowed a harsh response to the attack in the coastal city of Netanya and warned of more arrests and targeted killings of militant leaders in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli troops arrested more than 20 suspected Islamic Jihad members in the West Bank before dawn Thursday.

During the exchange of fire in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants launched homemade Kassam rockets into southern Israel. They called the action retaliation for an Israeli airstrike Wednesday that killed a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Rafah, at the southern tip of the coastal sliver.

Before Thursday’s airstrike, Israel fired shells into unpopulated areas of the northern Gaza Strip that have served as launch sites for the rockets. In addition, Israeli jets unleashed missiles near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in response to a rocket attack targeting southern Israel. Palestinian officials said four bystanders were injured in that strike.

Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities said they had arrested about three dozen members of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank as part of an investigation into Monday’s suicide bombing.

The suspects were taken into custody in several cities, including Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron.

Tawfiq abu Khoussa, a spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, said the suspects would be questioned about possible ties to the attack. More arrests may be made, he added. “The campaign is ongoing, depending on the investigation,” he said.

Islamic Jihad, a small, hard-line group that seeks Israel’s destruction, decried the arrests, saying Palestinian authorities were aiding Israel. The group said its actions, including the suicide bombing, were a response to Israeli violations, including arrests and killings of its leaders.

Israeli officials have criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for not doing more to crack down on armed groups, although the violence has been reduced by an informal cease-fire among the main militias that he brokered early this year.

Since Monday’s bombing, Israel has imposed a tight closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, barring most Palestinians from entering Israel.

Israeli officials also suspended talks aimed at offering bus service for Palestinians who wish to travel between Gaza and the West Bank. The planned convoys, scheduled to start Thursday, are part of an agreement on border crossings facilitated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit last month. U.S. officials hailed the accord as a breakthrough, but the suspension of preparatory talks has put the timetable in doubt.

Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who arrived Thursday to meet with both sides, was expected to try to get the talks back on track.