ARABS-ISRAEL - July 17 - Missile Kills 4.

Four Palestinians are killed by a targetted Israeli missile strike in Bethlehem and, for the first time, Palestinians fire a mortar shell into a Jewish neighbourhood at the edge of Jerusalem, making no harm. The Army later said the 4 included Hamas operatives planning a major attack at the closing ceremony next week of the Maccabiah Games. One of the dead men, identified by Hamas as Omar Saada, 45, commanded the Islamic group's military wing in the Bethlehem area of the West Bank. At least one of the other dead men was identified by as a Hamas operative and the two others were Saada's relatives. The 4 had a total of more than 20 children, the youngest an infant of 6 months. PA officials condemned the assassination, calling it an example of Israeli "state-sponsored terrorism". Israel then declared a nation-wide security alert as both sides braced for further attacks, with Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen fighting on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem as well as in Hebron and elsewhere. The Army said it will continue to target "terrorists who are planning attacks. It is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority to prevent such attacks and apprehend those planning them". In recent days, PA Security Chief on the West Bank Jibril Rajoub has issued statements urging Palestinians to desist from further attacks, especially inside Israel. But senior Hamas official Abdel Aziz Rantissi told Reuters: "Hamas will never forget the blood of its martyrs. And when our civilians are brutally killed, the military wing of Hamas will never keep silent and will respond in the time and the place it determines". Israeli Public Security Minister Uzi Landau banned any large gathering at a scheduled memorial service for Faisal Husseini, the PA leader in Jerusalem who died in May. Landau said the ban was issued because of concerns that the service would turn into an occasion of Palestinian nationalism and violence. (Thousands of mourners were expected on July 17 at Orient House, the PA HQ in E. Jerusalem where Husseini had his office. Hundreds of the armed police officers were stationed around the building to prevent everyone except Husseini's family from attending the service. Among those excluded was PA Speaker Ahmad Qurei, a lifelong friend of Husseini).