Gunbattles erupted Friday as Palestinian security forces swept through the West Bank town of Jenin, hunting for terrorists who killed an officer in an attack on a police station Thursday.
Dozens of police in jeeps cordoned of a northern part of the town, exchanging shots with the gunmen before arresting one of them, police said. There were no reports of injuries.
The violence in Jenin began after nightfall Thursday when a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
fired at the police station and then headed to the house of Jamal Shati, a member of the Palestinian parliament, and burned his car.
The police officer, who was shot in the head, died later in a Nablus hospital. Family members said they would not bury him until the gunmen were apprehended.
al-Aqsa Brigade: not us
Zakaria Zubeidi, a leader of the al- Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,said the group was not involved in the attacks. Later Friday, Zubeydi went to the town hall to offer his assistance in capturing the rest of the gunmen.
Zubeidi is the best-known of the local gang leaders who have taken control of West Bank streets and refugee camps in recent years.In March, Zubeidi stared down Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, who had ordered his arrest during a visit to Jenin but quickly relented.
Frustrating Palestinians
The security forces' weakness and the terror groups' strength have frustrated many Palestinians, who complain their government isn't
doing enough to restore order.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been trying to wrest control from the gangs by co-opting
them into the security forces, finessing the road-map requirement to disarm the militants. Thursday, officials reached a tentative deal to absorb 700 terrorists into the security services in Nablus, a center of terror activity and control.
Abbas' representatives have been working out such deals in Tulkarem and Jericho, the two towns Israel returned to Palestinian control under terms of a February truce.
That deal called for the transfer of five towns, but Israel stopped the process, claiming the Palestinians were using the period of calm to rebuild their terrorist infrastructure.
Abbas has said his goal is "one authority, one weapon," meaning only official security forces would be armed. But that implies the Authority plans to disarm terror groups like Hamas, but Palestinians admit that even large-scale collection of weapons is not on the horizon.
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