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Report: Israeli army concedes it killed U.N. worker

Islamic Jihad says it's behind boat explosion


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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An initial investigation by the Israeli army found that a U.N. aid worker in the West Bank was killed by an Israeli soldier who mistook the man's cell phone for a grenade during an exchange of gunfire, Israeli Radio reported Saturday.

The Israeli government did not confirm the reports, and said the matter is still under investigation.

British National Iain Hook was shot in the stomach Friday during fighting at the Palestinian refugee camp near Jenin and later died. He was project manager in the camp for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Palestinians accused Israeli troops of shooting Hook, and they claimed Israeli troops held up ambulances trying to reach him. The Israel Defense Forces denied that charge, saying an ambulance was sent as soon as the shooting had been reported. When the ambulance arrived, the IDF said, the man was already dead.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Saturday the Palestinian Authority was holding the Israeli government responsible for Hook's death. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat issued a decree that the slain British aid worker is a martyr, Erakat said, and the Palestinian Authority expressed its condolences to Hook's family, the British government and people.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz expressed sorrow over Hook's death, sent condolences to his family, and promised a full investigation, Israel Radio reported.

The United Nations is conducting its own investigation. In a written statement issued in Jerusalem, the United Nations said Hook was trapped in the UNRWA office compound in Jenin for several hours before he was shot.

Israeli forces entered the city Friday morning. Palestinian sources said the gun battle at Jenin had broken out after Israeli troops arrested an Islamic Jihad activist, Abdullah Naji Wahesh, whom Israel has accused of carrying out terror attacks against Israelis.

Hook had been leading work on rebuilding the Jenin refugee camp, which was virtually destroyed during an Israeli military incursion earlier this year. In addition to Hook, a 13-year-old boy, Muhammed Mislan Talalo, was shot and killed and a 21-year-old Palestinian was left brain dead after they were hit by gunfire at the camp, Palestinian sources said.

Islamic Jihad says it planned boat explosion

Also on Saturday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility after a boat packed with explosives blew up early in the day off Gaza near an Israeli naval vessel, slightly injuring four Israeli troops, the Israeli army said.

The Palestinian small craft -- which had crossed into Israeli waters -- did not respond to the Israeli attempts to make contact, the IDF said. Forces fired warning shots and sprayed the boat with water-- but as they approached, the boat exploded, the army said.

Israeli forces found two bodies on board the destroyed boat; Palestinian security sources identified the bodies as members of the Islamic Jihad. They were trying to infiltrate Gaza from the sea when Israeli forces aboard a patrol boat approached them and they detonated the explosives, the IDF said.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad operates out of Gaza and carries out attacks in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. It advocates the establishment of a Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel and has carried out military operations against Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians.



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