As "Operation Defensive Wall" entered its eighth day Saturday, IDF forces killed six members of the Izadeen al-Qassam military wing of Hamas in the village of Tubas, east of Nablus. Among the six killed was Kayas Adwan, a senior member of the terror cell responsible for the suicide bombings in the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, the train station in Nahariya, the Matza restaurant in Haifa last week, and at the Park Hotel on Seder night. The six were killed by a combination of tank fire and missiles from a helicopter.

Other wanted terrorists fled Nablus when the IDF entered the city and are believed to be hiding out in neighboring villages. A warehouse containing explosive devices was found in the area. The IDF is engaged in combat in the Nablus casbah, where more than 100 fugitives are believed to be hiding. Palestinian sources reported that fighters in the casbah have been equipped with explosives belts. Israel has reported making more than 1000 arrests and confiscating thousands of weapons.

In heavy fighting in Jenin Friday and Saturday, four Israeli soldiers were killed. They are Sergeant Marom Fisher, 19, from Moshav Avigdor, Roey Tal, 21, from Ma'alot, Oded Cornfein, from Kibbutz Ha'on. Sgt. Nissan Avraham of Lod was killed when two armed Palestinians tried to infiltrated the Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam. The infiltrators were killed and three Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident. An additional ten soldiers were injured in weekend fighting.

An additional 36 Palestinians were killed by IDF gunfire on Friday, 15 Nablus, 13 in Jenin, 2 in Bethlehem, and 2 in the village of Yata, south of Hebron, which the IDF entered overnight.

Two armed Palestinians were killed overnight as they tried to infiltrated the Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam. Four Palestinians were shot dead early Saturday at the Askar refugee camp near Nablus the West Bank's biggest city as they were placing explosives on the road to the camp, the military said.

In a failed suicide attack, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, Nasser Awais, died when explosives strapped to his body went off prematurely in Nablus, said Abu Mujahed, a spokesman of the militia group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Al Aqsa has claimed responsibility for scores of shooting and bombing attacks against Israelis over the past 18 months of conflict.

40 Palestinians, including seven Palestinian officers, turned themselves over to the IDF in Ramallah. 3 Palestinians, suspected of being collaborators, were executed by Palestinians in Tubas, and 5 were killed in Bethlehem.

In a failed attempt to hit a wanted terrorist, an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a car in Hebron, missing its target, but injuring five people in a passing car, including an 8-year-old boy.

ynet reports that senior military officials are discussing how to resolve the standoff at the Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, in which more than one hundred Palestinian gunmen are holed up in the church, holding hostages. Despite attempts to resolve the situation peacefully, the officials are now considering entering the structure if negotiations continue to prove fruitless. The Vatican reportedly has submitted a plan to resolve the standoff, but no details are not now available.

The IDF discovered an explosive charge placed next to a primary source of water in Bethlehem, apparently intended to disrupt the water supply in that city. Water supplies have been disrupted in other West Bank cities.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reports the electricity has been cut off at Arafat's compound, but that contact with Arafat has been re-established mid-day Saturday, after a break of several hours. Arafat refused the demand of Gen. Anthony Zinni to hand over the suspects in the assassination of Israeli minister Rechavam Ze'evi staying with him in the compound. Israeli forces Saturday arrested two additional suspects in the Ze'evi killing hiding in East Jerusalem.

The IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Ron Kitrey, told Israel Radio that the army requires more time to fully complete the operation, as defined by the government. Kitrey said that several more days were currently needed to fully complete the first phase of the operation.

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