The Israel Defense Forces killed a Hamas military commander in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported on Friday, in the latest of recent violent clashes between Israel and the Islamist organization.
Hamas has declared its objection to the recent relaunch of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas does not represent the Palestinian people and is not authorized to negotiate on its behalf.
Speaking to the cabinet earlier this week, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and which is believed to have operatives working in the PA-ruled West Bank, has issued "an organizational directive to foil the talks."
According to the IDF, an Israeli army unit had been conducting a raid for wanted Palestiniains in a village east of Tul Karm, when one of the wanted men, named by Israel Radio as Hamas West Bank strongman Iyad Shilbayeh, began "running suspiciously toward the [IDF] force, refusing to heed the soldiers' request to stop."
"The unit, feeling threatened, opened fire, killing the suspected," the IDF Spokesman's office said, adding that "the incident was being investigated."
In an escalation of tensions on Wednesday, militants fired two phosphorous mortar shells into Israel from the Hamas-ruled Strip. A total of nine mortar shells were fired on Wednesday, all falling in fields in the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no casualties or damage.
Israel responded by sending jets to bomb a smuggling tunnel in the Philadelphi Route. Palestinian sources said one person was killed and two injured in the attack.