Palestinian militants shot and killed an Israeli army officer in the West Bank on Saturday, the Israeli army and militants said.
A local commander for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement said the West Bank shooting was vengeance for a major Israeli raid in southern Gaza that left 42 dead this month and the Israeli killings of three Al-Aqsa leaders on May 2.
Witnesses saw medics treating a soldier lying in a pool of blood after he was shot in an exchange of fire with gunmen in Balata refugee camp, a militant stronghold near the West Bank city of Nablus.
"This is one of a series of operations planned by Al-Aqsa Brigades in reaction to Israeli crimes in Rafah, Nablus and other Palestinian territories," Khalil Marshoud, a local commander of Al-Aqsa, told Reuters.
"We want to confirm our continuation with the resistance option," against Israel, Marshoud said. "Israeli soldiers have put a lot of pressure on our civilians and fighters, and pressure leads to explosions."
The Israeli army said a captain from northern Israel was shot and killed as he was leading searches for militants suspected of planning attacks against Israel, in an early morning raid.
A commander of the Israeli force told Israel Radio that Capt. Shahar Ben-Ishai, 25, was mortally wounded while "in the alleyways of the camp as part of the mission, in a force that was covering other troops. They came under fire and one of the bullets struck Shahar." He died later of his injuries.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian man's body was found near the Gaza border fence with Israel. He was shot on suspicion of trying to plant a bomb, an Israeli military source said.
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