Israel announces lifting of Jenin blockade

JENIN: The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it was lifting its blockade on the northern West Bank town of Jenin as part of a package of measures to make life easier for Palestinians.

But by evening Israeli armoured cars were still manning roadblocks on all entry roads to the town preventing residents from circulating freely, an AFP correspondent saw. The Israeli army’s announcement came as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s top aide Osama al-Baz was in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on reviving the flagging Middle East peace process.

A Palestinian teenager who was shot by troops near the northern West Bank city of Nablus overnight died in an Israeli hospital Thursday, medical sources said.

Mohammad Jaber Said, 16, was shot as he was throwing stones at soldiers near a road running through the West Bank, Palestinian sources said.

Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded Thursday by an explosive device in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a military spokesman said. The attack took place in the narrow streets of the Old City where the army has been carrying out thorough searches for days, the spokesman said. —Agencies

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