Hamas activist killed by Israeli troops

Israeli troops killed a Hamas activist in a West Bank raid today as part of its new offensive against the Islamic militant group.

The soldiers also arrested three Palestinian women who were suspected of planning to carry out suicide bombings.

No explosives were found on them, and the army declined to elaborate.

The women are from the towns of Beit Jalla and Beit Sahour and the Dheisheh refugee camp, all just south of Jerusalem, the army said.

The vast majority of the more than 80 suicide bombers in the past 29 months of fighting have been men, most from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group.

Hamas is threatening to unleash more attacks on Israelis in retaliation for the deaths of eight members of its military wing in the past three days.

Despite the tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad over the weekend. It was his second recent meeting with a senior Palestinian official after a long freeze.

Fayad said they had discussed financial issues, including the transfer of funds to the Palestinians.

In London, Palestinian and Israeli delegations are attending talks this week on Palestinian government reform and international aid to the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinians will request €1.4bn in assistance from international donors until April 2004, Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said in London.

In other developments, Yasser Arafat’s deputy in the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, said that if offered the post of prime minister, he would seriously consider it.

Abbas is considered the front-runner for the job and has the support of Arafat’s Fatah movement, while Fayad has also been mentioned as a contender.

Arafat agreed last week, under intense international pressure, to create the post, provided this is approved by the PLO and the legislature.

Mideast mediators want Arafat to hand over the running of the government to a prime minister.

But the tentative reform efforts and ceasefire contacts were overshadowed by the intensifying confrontation between Israel and Hamas.

Troops today killed a Hamas activist outside his home in the West Bank town of Yatta. The man was armed and was shot dead when he tried to flee, the army said.

Palestinians identified the Hamas activist as Mohammed Mora, 27.