Israeli Forces Kill Hamas Militant in Gaza

Israeli forces raided a Gaza refugee camp and killed a Hamas militant Thursday, the latest violence to shake the Palestinian territories as Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party prepared to choose members of a new Palestinian government.

The army said soldiers fought with gunmen at the house of Jihad Abu Shwairah, 34, and the Hamas military leader was killed in a gunbattle. Palestinians said he was killed when helicopters fired missiles at his house in central Gaza, but the army said the missiles were fired at a different location.

In a separate incident late Wednesday, Palestinians said seven people were wounded in a clash with Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza. The army said there was no clash in the area.

The Fatah Central Committee was to meet Thursday in the West Bank town of Ramallah to choose candidates for 16 of the 24 spots in the new Palestinian Cabinet, giving Arafat virtual control over the government of prime minister-designate Ahmed Qureia.

It was unclear whether the Fatah leaders would present Qureia with a slate of 16 ministers, or a list of candidates from which he would pick the ministers. The remaining eight ministers would represent other Palestinian groups or independents.

Originally, Qureia wanted to form an emergency Cabinet with about eight ministers, but Fatah and Arafat vetoed that, insisting on maintaining direct control.

Arafat picked Qureia after his first prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, resigned Sept. 6 after power struggles with Arafat, clashes with Israel over peace negotiations and renewed attacks against Israelis by violent Islamic groups when a cease-fire collapsed. Arafat had appointed Abbas reluctantly and under international pressure to share power.

Qureia, presently the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, has a wider political base than Abbas and has said he does not intend to undercut Arafat.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met several times with Abbas, but Israeli officials have declared they will not deal with a Palestinian government that derives its authority from Arafat.

Israel charges that Arafat is tainted with terrorism. Last week, after two Palestinian suicide bombers killed 15 Israelis in a single day, the Israeli security Cabinet declared that Arafat was an obstacle to peace and said it would “remove” him at an unspecified time.

The decision set off international condemnation and, in parallel, a wave of renewed Palestinian support for Arafat. For more than a year, The Palestinian leader has been held as a virtual prisoner by Israeli forces at his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

During an interview Wednesday, Israel’s Channel 2 TV asked Arafat if there was a possibility for a new truce. “Of course,” he said. “You’re invited. The announcement was made yesterday,” referring to remarks by his security adviser, Jibril Rajoub, on Tuesday.

On Israel’s Channel 10 TV, Arafat said contacts are under way with all Palestinian factions over a cease-fire. “Even the Islamic Jihad said they are willing to respect a cease-fire, and we are continuing our contacts with Hamas,” he said.

Qureia said once he has formed a new government, he will “call on the Israelis to agree to a mutual cease-fire” to clear the way for a reopening of negotiations and progress on the stalled “road map” peace plan.

In recent days, Hamas leaders abroad have been in touch by phone with top Palestinian officials to discuss a possible truce, and a senior Palestinian official said Hamas is now signaling it would stop the attacks in exchange for a halt of Israel’s military strikes, including targeted killings of Hamas members.

Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin delivered the message recently in a meeting with Zakaria al-Agha, an envoy sent by Arafat, in Gaza City, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yassin survived an Israeli airstrike earlier this month – one in a series of attacks that have killed 13 Hamas members and six bystanders in the past month. Yassin was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Hamas has claimed responsibility for scores of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis in the past three years. But the group’s leadership appears to have been rattled by the Israeli airstrikes, as well as by efforts to prevent foreign funding from reaching the group and its related charities.