KABATIYA, West Bank - A joint counter-terror operation by the Shin Bet (General Security Agency) and Israel Defense Forces netted four members of an Islamic Jihad terror cell.

During the operation in the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Kabatiya, south of Jenin, two 45-pound bombs were detonated in a controlled explosion by IDF sappers.

Meanwhile, IDF troops shot and killed Aziz Yousef, 20, spotted with two other Palestinians carrying firebombs near the village of Kufr Malik, after the trio ignored warning shots fired in the air.

Yousef is the third Palestinian fire-bomber to be killed in as many days. Mohammed Ramahi, 21, died of his wounds in a Ramallah hospital Wednesday evening.

Ramahi was shot during an attack on IDF troops, seconds before he hurled a lit bomb at the soldiers.

Senior PA official Saeb Erekat criticized the IDF for its stepped-up efforts against a new wave of Molotov cocktail attacks on Jewish communities and IDF troops in the Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

Erekat asked "why Israel is utterly unwilling" to observe a cease-fire in the West Bank, as it is with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

To combat the increased firebomb attacks, the army has deployed troops near potential targets to await the nighttime assailants.

Sources: Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post