Palestinian militiamen killed; high court upholds house demolitions

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli troops killed the suspected mastermind of a Tel Aviv suicide bombing and a second Palestinian militiaman during a West Bank chase Tuesday, and Israel's Supreme Court upheld the practice of demolishing homes of Palestinian terror suspects without warning.

Both casualties were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement. One was Ali Ajouri, 23, accused by Israel of having sent two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Tel Aviv on July 17.

The military recently demolished the home of Ajouri's family in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus. In Jerusalem, Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition by Palestinian relatives of terror suspects whose homes are slated for demolition by the Israeli military.