Palestinian militants shot and killed an Israeli army officer in the West Bank on today.
A local commander for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement said the West Bank shooting was vengeance for a major Israeli raid in southern Gaza that left 42 dead this month and the Israeli killings of three Al-Aqsa leaders on May 2nd.
Witnesses saw medics treating a soldier lying in a pool of blood after he was shot in an exchange of fire with gunmen in Balata refugee camp, a militant stronghold near the West Bank city of Nablus.
"This is one of a series of operations planned by Al-Aqsa Brigades in reaction to Israeli crimes in Rafah, Nablus and other Palestinian territories," Mr Khalil Marshoud, a local commander of Al-Aqsa, said.
"We want to confirm our continuation with the resistance option," against Israel, Mr Marshoud said. "Israeli soldiers have put a lot of pressure on our civilians and fighters, and pressure leads to explosions."
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on its first fatality in the Palestinian territories since a string of ambushes in mid-May killed 13 troops in Gaza, triggering a six-day raid in southern Gaza's Rafah in which 42 Palestinians died and dozens of homes were destroyed.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian man's body was found near the Gaza border fence with Israel. He was shot on suspicion of trying to plant a bomb, an Israeli military source said.