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Fishing boat explodes near Israeli vesselU.N. aid worker shot and killed near Jenin
JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (CNN) -- A Palestinian fishing boat packed with explosives blew up early Saturday near an Israeli naval vessel, slightly wounding three Israeli soldiers, the Israel Defense Forces said. The IDF said the incident happened as the Israeli vessel was in the waters off the coast of Gaza. It was not clear if anyone was on the Palestinian boat, the IDF said. This follows two other incidents in the West Bank on Friday. A U.N. aid worker was shot and later died during fighting near Jenin, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The Red Crescent said the U.N. worker, Ian Hook, was hit in the stomach in the Palestinian refugee camp near the town of Jenin. Palestinians accused Israeli troops of shooting the man, a British national, who is the project manager in the camp for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. But the Israel Defense Forces disputed the Palestinian claim, saying there was an exchange of gunfire in the area and it was not possible to say who shot the man. Palestinians also charged Israeli troops held up ambulances trying to reach the man. The IDF denied that charge, saying an ambulance was sent as soon as the man's shooting had been reported. When the ambulance arrived, the IDF said, the man was already dead. In addition to the U.N. worker, a 13-year-old boy, Muhammed Mislan Talalo, was shot and killed and a 21-year-old Palestinian was left brain dead after they were hit by gunfire at the camp, Palestinian sources said. The sources said a gun battle broke out after Israeli troops arrested an Islamic Jihad activist, Abdullah Naji Wahesh, whom Israel has accused of carrying out terror attacks against Israelis. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces destroyed the Bethlehem house of Nael Abu Hilayel, 26, suspected in the suicide bombing Thursday in which 11 people were killed and 50 injured aboard a Jerusalem bus, Palestinian sources told CNN. Israeli troops packed explosives into the house, leveling it as part of Israel's policy against accused terrorists. The Israeli army has arrested more than 20 Palestinians with suspected ties to Hamas, the radical Islamic group that claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, according to the IDF. In a raid before dawn, Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moved into the center of Bethlehem, sealing off Manger Square, the entrance to the Church of the Nativity, in an effort to prevent Palestinians from seeking refuge there. Palestinian security sources reported hearing unmanned drone aircraft above the Dheisheh refugee camp adjacent to the Palestinian-controlled city. Friday's military action marked the first Israeli move into Bethlehem since the IDF withdrew in August, after the more than monthlong siege at the Church of the Nativity, built on the location which Christian tradition holds is the birthplace of Jesus. Israel also continued anti-terror sweeps across Gaza on Friday. An Israeli soldier trying to clear an access road Friday morning was killed by a Palestinian gunman in southern Gaza, according to the IDF. The gunman was hiding in a Palestinian area near Gush Katif, a block of Jewish settlements between Rafah and Khan Yunis. Israeli forces demolished two houses near Khan Yunis that belonged to two Hamas activists said to be responsible for several suicide attacks, according to the IDF. In northern Gaza, Israeli forces fired toward a group of gunmen in Netzarim, killing one of the gunmen, according to the IDF. Children among suicide bomber's victims
Among the 11 people killed by the bomber aboard the crowded Israeli commuter bus Thursday morning in Jerusalem were four children. "The atmosphere is one of great sadness," said Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, who visited the bombing site. (More witness accounts) Officials released the names of the 11 victims killed in the attack: Ella Sharshevsky, 44, and her son Michael Sharshevsky, 16; Kira Perlman, 67, and her grandson Ilan Perlman, 8; Marina Bazarski, 46; Hodaya Asaraf, 13; Varga Mirse, 25; Sima Novak, 56; Yafit Revivo, 13; Dikla Zino, 20; and Hadassah Helena Ben David, 32. Hamas claimed responsibility for the terror attack in a broadcast on Hezbollah's al-Manar television. A radical Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group, Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Its military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as well as attacks against the Israeli military. Olmert blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for Thursday's terror attack: "The bombing's not going to stop as long as Yasser Arafat wants it to continue." Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned Thursday's attack but called Israeli accusations "a broken record." "We cannot accept the official Israeli accusations against the Palestinian Authority and Arafat," Erakat said. "We reiterate that the only way to stop this vicious cycle is through resumption of a meaningful peace process that would lead to the end of Israeli occupation." -- CNN Correspondents Jerrold Kessel and Matthew Chance contributed to this report.
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