Islamic Jihad commander killed in Gaza blast

An explosion in a car in Gaza City today killed the top commander of the Islamic Jihad’s military wing in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.

The Israeli military, which frequently carries out pinpointed attacks against militants in Gaza, said it was not involved in the death of Khaled Dahdouh.

Islamic Jihad accused Israel of killing Dahdouh in an airstrike, and vowed revenge for his death.

Violence today also spilled into the West Bank, where Palestinian militants shot and killed a Jewish settler travelling on a road near the settlement of Tapuah, military officials said.

The Al Aqsa Martrys’ Brigades, a group affiliated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party, took responsibility for the shooting. Israeli troops were searching for two gunmen who fled the scene, Israel Radio said.

A second shooting just miles away left an Israeli man seriously wounded, the Israeli military said. The man was shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting near the settlement of Karnei Shomron, it added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The deadly explosion and attacks on Israelis came as the Islamic militant Hamas group prepared to take over the Palestinian Cabinet and Israel heads into March 28 parliamentary elections.

Palestinian police, witnesses and Islamic Jihad gave conflicting accounts of Dahdouh’s death.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said it was unclear whether the car was parked or travelling over a speed bump when it exploded.

It said no missile parts were found in the car, but Israeli drones were in the sky when the blast went off.

A witness, Ahmed Abdel Khalouk, said he was sitting about 100 metres (yards) from Dahdouh’s car, which was parked at a speed bump, when he saw a large man walk over to it and open the driver’s door.

“There was a huge ball of fire, and debris from the car covered the entire area,” he said. “I think the car was booby-trapped.”

Islamic Jihad said Israel killed Dahdouh in a missile attack after failing to kill him nine times before. And it vowed retaliation for his death.

Dahdouh, 45, was behind the development and manufacture of a new generation of longer-range homemade rockets that militants have fired recently at southern Israel, Islamic Jihad said. He also planned and participated in several attacks against Israeli targets in Gaza and the West Bank, it said.

Islamic Jihad – unlike Hamas, which swept January 25 Palestinian elections - has disregarded a year-old informal truce with Israel, and has carried out all six suicide bombings that have taken place in that time.

The group has rejected Hamas’ offer to join a Palestinian government that it is expected to form this month.

The blast took place on a busy street in the residential area between Islamic University and the Finance Ministry compound in Gaza City. It knocked out electricity in the area and damaged several cars parked nearby.