Israeli army leave Jenin after killing militant

THE Israeli army withdrew its tanks and troops to the outskirts of Jenin yesterday, a day after tracking down and killing a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a lengthy gun battle at his hideout, officials said.

Jenin governor Haider Irshaid said troops left some 35 homes they had taken over as lookout posts and pulled armoured vehicles, tanks and jeeps out of the town, ending an incursion that lasted two weeks.

With forces sitting on the outskirts of the town, troops can quickly return to the city centre as they have done in the past.

Life in Jenin regained a semblance of normality this morning.

Children went to school for the first time in two weeks. Shops reopened and bulldozers began removing rubble from at least six buildings demolished in the army's operation.

The army entered Jenin to search for militants following an October 21 suicide bombing by the militant Islamic Jihad movement that killed 14 people.

On Saturday, the army found and killed the man it said was responsible for that bus bombing and an earlier bus attack that killed 17 people.

The militant, Iyad Sawalha, was hiding in an apartment in Jenin's casbah, taking cover behind a hidden wall in a kitchen, Israeli authorities said.

Soldiers charged into an apartment building, and Mr Sawalha threw grenades and fired at troops, the Israelis said.

Mr Sawalha was killed after an operation that lasted five hours, and two soldiers were lightly injured, the army said.

Israeli soldiers on Friday distributed a leaflet to Jenin residents, calling on Mr Sawalha to leave the town and saying he was the reason for the Israeli operation inside Jenin. Mr Sawalha was from a village south of Jenin but had taken refuge in the town.

Israel says Jenin is a centre for Palestinian militants who carry out suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel, and have had a strong military presence in and around the city for months.

During the army's two-week stay in Jenin, troops arrested dozens of suspected militants and demolished more than 10 homes belonging to militant's families, a senior army commander said on condition of anonymity.