GAZA, May 24 (UPI) -- Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Ramallah Wednesday, killing four and injuring 35 others.
Palestinian sources said among the four dead, three were members of Palestinian security, killed in the fighting which erupted after Israeli troops from the Arabized brigade whose members speak Arabic and are clad in Arab attires, sneaked into Ramallah to arrest a wanted Palestinian militant.
The "Arabized" troops then sought refuge in an apartment building where they were besieged by Palestinians.
Regular troops then intervened to free the besieged and managed to arrest a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Earlier Wednesday, rampant violence continued in Gaza despite commitments by Hamas and Fatah to restore security.
Security sources and medics said a 22-year-old Hamas activist was killed and two others injured after they were kidnapped from the town of Absan, near Khan Younes, south of Gaza.
The three casualties, all from the same family, arrived at the hospital in Khan Younes at dawn, but one died of his injuries despite emergency surgery to stop a hemorrhage.
A Hamas source told United Press International that unknown gunmen took away the three activists after kidnapping them from their home, tied them down and beat them before shooting at their legs from a short distance. One received a bullet to the stomach that eventually led to his death.
In another development, two members of Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, were injured at dawn Wednesday during clashes with unidentified gunmen, believed to belong to Fatah, in central Gaza City.
Medical sources said the two were rushed to hospital suffering wounds in the legs and arms.
Also Wednesday, an explosion occurred outside the house of Sheikh Wafa Ayyad, a senior member of Hamas, in the refugee camp of Nusseirat.
