GAZA CITY — Israeli forces killed a Hamas militant during a firefight in the Gaza Strip early today, hours after Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said that he would kill himself if Israel tried to expel or assassinate him.
Israeli helicopter gunships killed Jihad Abu Swerah, 34, a senior Hamas activist, during an operation to arrest him at his home in central Gaza. The raid was part of a series of measures to clamp down on militants who Israel believes have been behind the killing of 38 people in suicide bombings in the Jewish state over the last month, derailing a U.S.-backed peace plan.
