Israeli air strike kills militant leader in West Bank

AN Israeli air strike in the West Bank killed a militant leader as Palestinians complained that Israel had confiscated thousands of acres of their land for the most controversial segment of its separation barrier.

Israel is considering building thousands more homes in West Bank settlements, in line with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to keep large chunks of the territory while giving up the Gaza Strip, security officials said yesterday.

An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a car in the Balata refugee camp next to the city of Nablus last night, killing Khalil Marshoud, the local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a violent offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. The military said Marshoud was behind a number of attacks against Israelis.