In the pre-dawn hours of March 27, Israeli army troops stormed the old city of Nablus, killing two Palestinian activists from the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The two martyrs, Ala Abu Ghalith, 26 and Muhanned Mureish, 24, were killed during a gun-battle between armed Palestinian activists and Israeli soldiers.

According to Palestinian media sources, Israeli troops invaded Nablus just after midnight, taking up positions in and around the old city, a known stronghold for Palestinian resistance groups, namely the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

Hospital sources say the two men were shot in the lower body but were left for hours to bleed, which ultimately cost them their lives. Palestinian ambulances were said to have been barred by Israeli troops from reaching the location of the two injured men, who were declared dead upon arriving at the hospital.

Israeli army forces also raided the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, clashing with a group of armed Palestinians from the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the Quds Brigades. According to one unnamed member of the Brigades present at the scene, Israeli forces entered the western neighborhood of the town where they were met with gunfire from the Brigades. The army later surrounded and raided several homes in the quarter in search of Palestinian activists wanted by the Israeli security services.

The Israeli army radio reported this morning that seven Palestinians had been arrested overnight in various parts of the West Bank.

The incursions come several hours before the convening of the Arab summit in Riyadh, where Arab leaders will ostensibly discuss the 2000 Arab peace initiative and ways to reactivate it in a bid to move the peace process forward between Israel and the Palestinians. Over the past week, Arab leaders, President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have been meeting with US Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice and discussing ways to reach final status talks and ultimately the establishment of a Palestinian state according to the roadmap and President Bush’s vision of a two-state solution.

Arab leaders, including President Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, will meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia today for the Arab Summit. The Palestinian issue vis-à-vis the Arab peace initiative is expected to be at the forefront of talks. While the Arabs are pushing for Israel to accept the initiative without alteration, Israel has repeatedly said some of its clauses are “problematic”, namely those that deal with the Palestinian refugee right of return.