Israeli army special forces have killed a senior Hamas operative in Beit Awa south of Hebron today. <br/><br/>A statement released by the army said that Israeli troops laid siege to a house early this morning where Ali Sweiti was holed up. Sweiti was killed in the operation after he refused to surrender. <br/><br/>The statement said that Sweiti was born in Beit Awa in 1968, and responsible for five shooting attacks and a bombing between 1999 and 2004. He escaped an earlier attempt to arrest him in February 2007, the army said. <br/>