The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Jerusalem

Israeli troops killed five Palestinian militants in the West Bank on Wednesday in a move that set back attempts to secure a cease-fire with armed groups firing rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Three of the dead were Islamic Jihad militants, and the group retaliated by firing 12 rockets overnight toward the Israeli town of Sderot, causing minimal damage.

Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in Gaza City, said the barrage was only the start of the group's response.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Wednesday also announced sanctions against Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arabic-language news channel, in response to what it charged was biased coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli soldiers and police launched a joint operation Wednesday in Bethlehem to capture Mohammed Shehada, a senior West Bank military leader of Islamic Jihad.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers spotted Shehada and three other men in a car, concluded they were armed and opened fire, killing all four.