Leading suspect in kibbutz shooting captured

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops tracked down the suspected ringleader of a deadly Palestinian shooting spree at an Israeli kibbutz, forcing him to strip to his underwear and surrender Thursday in the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

In a separate army action in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces carried out an early morning raid in Gaza City -- a congested place that ground troops rarely approach -- and detained four Palestinian brothers suspected of making mortars.

The actions are part of a recent pattern in which the military sends tanks, armored personnel carriers and troops into Palestinian cities and towns on nighttime missions to seize militants.

In Tulkarem, soldiers surrounded the house where the kibbutz attack suspect, Mohammed Naefe, was hiding. He walked out with his hands up, stripped to his underwear to ensure he wasn't carrying explosives. An Israeli human rights group helped arrange the surrender of Naefe and two alleged accomplices.

Hideout demolished

The army then demolished the hideout as part of its policy of destroying the homes of militants in an attempt to deter Palestinians from carrying out attacks on Israelis.

Israel says Naefe planned the attack Sunday on Kibbutz Metzer, a communal farm. Five people were killed, including a mother and her two young sons. The suspected gunman, identified as Sirhan Sirhan, 19, remains at large.

The attack, carried out by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, has embarrassed Yasser Arafat. The militia is linked to the Palestinian leader's Fatah movement, and the shooting came at a time when Fatah was trying to persuade the Islamic militant group Hamas to halt suicide bombings in Israel.

Arafat and Fatah denounced the shooting, saying it was carried out by rogue elements beyond their control, and have called for an end to attacks against Israeli civilians. At talks this week in Cairo, Egypt, Fatah asked the militant group Hamas to suspend suicide bombings for three months. Hamas said it needed more time to consider the proposal.

Hamas members arrested

In the West Bank town of Ramallah Thursday, Israeli forces arrested 17 wanted Hamas members as they gathered in a banquet hall to celebrate the end of a daytime fast. Observant Muslims fast each day during the holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas members and troops traded fire briefly before the arrests, but no injuries were reported.

The kibbutz shooting led to a renewed debate about sending Arafat, who heads the Palestinian Authority established in 1994, into exile.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israeli security chiefs have advised him not to expel Arafat, as demanded by several hardline Cabinet members including Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon's rival for the Likud Party leadership in a primary election later this month.