Palestinian terrorists overtook a vehicle near Kibbutz Bahan in Israel, adjacent to the "Green Line" north of Tulkarm, shooting to death an Israeli officer, Lt. Erez Merhavi, and wounding Lt. Limor Vishnai. The attack occurred Thursday evening, as the two were traveling to a wedding.

Merhavi was declared dead at the scene of the attack. Vishnai, shot in the neck, is hospitalized in nearby Hadera's Hillel Yaffe hospital, listed in moderate-to-serious condition.

A faction of Arafat's Fatah organization took credit for the fatal shooting in an announcement broadcast over loudspeakers in Tul Karm. The group said its members carried out the attack "inside the Green Line to avenge the killing of the two martyrs in Tulkarm today." The announcement provoked celebrations in the streets of Tulkarm, according to Channel Two.

Reprisal for failed IDF "hit"
Earlier in the day an Israeli helicopter attacked a jeep in which Fatah Tanzim militants were riding, killing two but only lightly wounding the primary target.

Palestinian officials identified the dead as Mustafa Onbas, 19, and Omar Subuh, 21, both low-level members of Arafat's Fatah faction.

The target of the strike was Raed el-Karmi, commander of the local Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia consisting primarily of Fatah members. el-Karmi appears high on Israel's "wanted list" and has appeared several times on international television interviews, boasting of his success in attacks on Israel. The IDF said he has been involved in the killing of six Israelis.

Head of the Fatah Tanzim faction, Marwan Bargouti, vowed to keep avenging Israeli "hits." The fact that the shooting attack occurring hours after the Israeli attack, in the same general area as the Israeli attack, and on the Israeli side of the "green line" border zone separating Israeli from Palestinian-controlled territories, suggests a more aggressive reprisal policy by the Fatah faction.

Previously most Palestinian shooting attacks took place in the West Bank, but in recent weeks an increasing number of attacks have occurred in the "seam" area of Israel.

In apparent response to this trend, the IDF spokesperson issued an announcement that Israelis should absolutely avoid travel in Area A (full Palestinian control) but also advised avoiding travel in Area B (Israeli security control) adjacent to Palestinian-administered areas without prior coordination with the Army.

Today the Sharon government is expected to announce a tougher policy to prevent infiltrations and terror attacks across the vulnerable "seam" area adjacent to Israel's narrow "waist."

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