Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian militant during a raid in the West Bank and temporarily blocked Gaza’s main road on Thursday, angering Palestinians who accused Israel of undermining US peacemaking. The killing in the West Bank town of Qalqilya and the almost six-hour road closure, three days after the long-blocked highway was reopened, followed attacks by militants, Israel said. ‘‘These are acts of sabotage (by Israel) and we do not accept them,’’ Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas said. Israeli troops shot dead 30-year-old Mahmoud Shawar of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades during an overnight raid in Qalqilya. A second member of the Brigades was wounded and arrested, sources said. ‘‘We in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announce we are not complying with the ceasefire as long as the occupation continues raiding our lands and killing our people,’’ a local leader of the Brigades said through loudspeakers as Shawar was buried. ‘‘We warn Sharon’s government that our response will come quick and will be like an earthquake within 24 hours.’’ Israel freed Colonel Suleiman Abu Mutlaq, the third-ranking commander of the Gaza Palestinian Preventive Security Forces. He had been suspected by Israel of involvement in attacks on Israelis and he was allowed back into Gaza. Israel also released 33 prisoners who the army said had served their terms. The Palestinians regard the release of prisoners as vital for the success of a three-month truce announced by Palestinian militants on Sunday and for the US-backed roadmap to peace. The two sides’ acceptance of the roadmap has raised cautious optimism, but the latest problems highlighted its fragility. US President George W. Bush praised both sides’ leaders. He thanked Israeli PM Ariel Sharon on Wednesday for a troop pullback from Bethlehem and hailed Abbas on Thursday for implementing steps on the roadmap. In Gaza, an Israeli bulldozer placed concrete barriers on the North-South highway to block Palestinian traffic for almost six hours. An Israeli source said the highway closure followed the firing of an anti-tank missile that wounded three Israelis at Kfar Darom in Gaza. Spain and Italy offered to host a peace conference called for by the roadmap. It aims to end violence and establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel by 2005. (Reuters)
