Israeli forces killed a Hamas member in the Gaza Strip early today, hours after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said he would kill himself if Israel tried to expel or kill him.
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Palestinian girls recover their belongings from the remains of theirfamily house after it was destroyed during an Israeli raid at Noseratrefugee camp in Gaza Strip
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Israeli soldiers shot and killed Jihad Abu Swerah, 34, a senior activist in Hamas's Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam armed wing during an operation to arrest him at his home in central Gaza.
The raid was part of a series of Israeli measures to clamp down on militants who have been behind the killing of 38 people in suicide bombings in Israel over the past month in a cycle of tit-for-tat violence that has derailed a US-backed peace plan.
Speaking in his partly demolished West Bank headquarters, Mr Arafat pointed to his machinegun lying on the floor and said he would use it to kill himself if Israel tried to deport or assassinate him.
"I am a Palestinian soldier...I will use my gun to defend not only myself but also defend every Palestinian child, woman and man and to defend the Palestinian existence," the 74-year-old former PLO leader said.
"Is there anyone in Palestine who does not dream of martyrdom?" Mr Arafat asked.
Israel vowed to "remove" him after 15 people were killed in back-to-back suicide bombings last week. It has not said how or when it would act against him but cabinet ministers have indicated the possibilities include killing or expelling him.
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The United States, though pressuring Israel to refrain from carrying out its decision, vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding Israel not act against Mr Arafat, saying it lacked references to suicide bombings in Israel.
Mr Arafat shrugged off the veto saying it is "not the first veto against the Palestinians and will not be the last." But other Palestinian officials said they feared that Israel could see the US move as a license to kill Mr Arafat.