The IDF arrested nine Palestinians in the West Bank early Friday morning. A Hamas activist who had been involved in a number of terror attacked was arrested in Nablus, while troops in Qalqilyah arrested Ismail Jibril Ismail, suspected of planning to dispatch a suicide bomber to carry out an attack in Israel.

Five unarmed Palestinians were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire as they tried to cross the security fence into Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday. Hours later, another Palestinian, apparently from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was shot dead by troops during an attempt to infiltrate a Gaza settlement.

The five unarmed Palestinians, apparently trying to get work in Israel, were killed by a tank shell late Tuesday night as they tried scaling the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, but their bodies were only found during a search Thursday.

"An army force identified several suspicious figures crawling toward the border fence near the Karni crossing overnight," said an IDF source. "This area is barred to Palestinian traffic and there were specific warnings that an infiltration attempt would be carried out in this area. They were found with ladders, apparently having planned to get over the border fence, but no weapons were found," the source added. (© Copyright 2002 Ha´aretz 12/13/02)