Violence Mars Mideast Security Deal
Israeli undercover soldiers shot and killed the brother of a radical Palestinian leader after he fired at them first, the military said Tuesday, as violence marred the first day of a security arrangement designed to lead to a truce after nearly two years of fighting.

In the Gaza Strip, a Hamas sniper killed an Israeli soldier guarding a Jewish settlement, and the Palestinian militant group said it would undermine the security deal. Israeli soldiers later killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the same area after Israel sent attack helicopters to search for the sniper.

Under the deal, Palestinian police patrolled the West Bank town of Bethlehem for the first time in more than two months after Israel withdrew its troops. Israel is also to turn the Gaza Strip over to Palestinian security and pledges further steps to ease restrictions if violence is halted.

In Ramallah, Israeli special forces disguised as Arabs shot and killed Mohammed Saadat, brother of Ahmed Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Minutes after the soldiers stormed the house, Mohammed Saadat's bullet-riddled body lay on the ground behind the building. Angry neighbors and relatives shouted and threw rocks at the Israelis, who fired rifles in the air to disperse the crowd.

In a statement, the Israeli military said the Israelis intended to arrest Saadat, but he opened fire on them, wounding two soldiers, and other soldiers killed him. The statement said Saadat was an ``active member'' of the PFLP.

Ahmed Saadat has been in Palestinian custody since May 1, part of a deal that ended a 34-day siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. Israel charges he planned the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi on Oct. 17, retaliation for Israel's killing of Saadat's predecessor, Mustafa Zibri, on July 27, 2001.

West Bank security chief Zuhair Manasra told Israel TV, ``A continuation of the Israeli assassinations will bring about the collapse of the agreement'' to restore calm to the West Bank, starting with Bethlehem and Gaza.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html