RAMALLAH, West Bank?Palestinian police on Tuesday detained the leader of a faction that claimed responsibility for the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister?a move that appeared to be aimed at defusing spiraling tensions.

The move came just hours after gunmen shot and killed two Israelis in the West Bank: a 72-year-old Israeli-American man shopping for building supplies and a 45-year-old woman driving to a wedding.

Officials from the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that Ahmed Saadat had been detained.

The Front had claimed responsibility for killing Tourism Minister Rehavan Zeevi on Oct. 17.

Israel has said it would not lift its travel restrictions on Arafat, until those responsible for the minister’s death were in detention. The Palestinian leader has been restricted to Ramallah for more than a month.