Israeli troops enter Jericho, arrest three

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli troops entered Jericho overnight Thursday and arrested three Palestinians wanted for questioning in suspected terrorist activities, Israeli military sources said.

Palestinian sources confirmed Israeli troops entered Jericho, the only West Bank town not under Israeli military control, and detained three Palestinians.

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Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned the Israeli action and called it a disturbing development.

Fifteen other Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank and Gaza overnight for suspected terrorist activities, Israeli military sources said.

In another development late Thursday, two people were killed when a car exploded in Gaza City, Palestinian sources said.

The sources say a bomb was planted in the car by Israeli security forces.

One of those killed, identified as 47-year-old Jihad Alaniri, was a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The group, an offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement that has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on Israeli civilians, has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

Israel began military operations in the West Bank and Gaza following back-to-back suicide bombings that killed 26 Israelis in Jerusalem last month. A series of suicide bombings and shootings have claimed the lives of more than 220 Israelis since January.