Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian militant, jeopardizing fragile ceasefire

RAMALLAH/GAZA, Friday (Xinhua) Israeli undercover units shot dead a Palestinian militant in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank town of Nablus, further jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire.

The 25-year-old Ibrahim al-Smiri, member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed wing of the mainstream Fatah movement, was killed after Israeli soldiers disguising as locals broke into the area and opened fire at him. He was the first Palestinian militant assassinated by Israel since Israeli and the Palestinian leaders declared a mutual truce in February.

The bloodshed further strained tensions triggered by the Israeli killing of three Palestinian teenagers last week near the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Militant factions retaliated with spate of mortar attacks on Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades vowed "an earthquake" reaction after the latest killing, but pledged to abide by the de facto truce that militant groups agreed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in mid March to extend calmness till the year end to give him a chance to revive peace talks with Israel.

Abbas condemned the Thursday killing as a "serious violation" of the ceasefire he and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared at a Feb. 8 summit in Egypt.

Sharon promised to stop targeted killings of wanted Palestinian militants and a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee was set up to solve the issue of hundreds of Palestinian militants wanted by Israel for alleged involvement in attacks on Israeli targets.

Palestinian observers believe that Israel is trying to provocate the militant groups to prove that Abbas had done little to reign in militants.