Israel kills Palestinian in West Bank raid

Israeli soldiers have killed at least one Palestinian in a raid on the village of Tel in the West Bank today.

Eyewitnesses said a large force backed by helicopter gunships invaded the village at dawn and placed it under curfew.

The raid came just hours before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met US envoy Anthony Zinni for breakfast at his sheep farm in southern Israel.

Yesterday, in the hours before Zinni’s arrival in the region, Israel withdrew its tanks and soldiers from several Palestinian towns in the West Bank, a move welcomed by the US government.

However, Mr Sharon is still refusing to enter peace talks with the Palestinian Authority until Yasser Arafat, who is trapped in Ramallah in the sights of an Israeli tank cannon, arrests more Islamic militants.