Closure set on Israeli border

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops killed an armed Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, and Israel imposed a blanket closure Tuesday on the Palestinian areas during a Muslim holiday because of warnings of possible attacks by militants.\nThe closure, which bars Palestinians from entering Israel, reverses a decision to ease travel restrictions during the holiday, Eid al-Adha, which begins Tuesday.\nIsraeli troops making arrests in the West Bank city of Nablus shot a suspected Palestinian militant as he fled, the army said. Israel Radio said the Palestinian was killed and was a member of the Tanzim militia, which is affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah party.\nActivists in the militant group Islamic Jihad in Nablus said one of their leaders was shot in the head and seriously injured during a gunbattle and had been taken to a hospital.\nIn a renewed attempt to arrange a cease-fire, Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Hassan and Dov Weisglass, director general of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, planned to hold talks Tuesday evening.\nAccording to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, one proposal calls for the Israeli army to pull out of several West Bank towns -- possibly Tulkarem, Jenin and Qalqiliya -- and for Palestinian police to assume control.\nIn the Gaza Strip shooting, a Palestinian carrying a Kalashnikov rifle near the Kissufim crossing into Israel was shot by soldiers late Monday, the army spokesman said. His body, with a bulletproof vest, was found at daylight Tuesday, the army said.\nA total of 18 Palestinians suspected of militant activity were arrested in the West Bank overnight, including a woman in Jenin, the army said. Palestinians said the woman was a 40-year-old mother of six, the wife of a Hamas activist who had been arrested a few months ago.