Four Palestinians have been killed today in continuing violence in the Middle East.
Palestinian militants killed two fellow Palestinians suspected of working with Israel, a third Palestinian blew himself up by accident and a fourth was shot dead by Israeli troops.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded at the gates of a West Bank orchard as a group of Israeli teenagers were leaving the field after helping with the cherry harvest. Three 15-year-old boys were injured, one seriously.
The Israeli army staged a pair of raids into the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Tulkarem, and maintained a siege at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's battered compound in Ramallah for a second day.
The latest violence coincided with a Washington visit by Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, who received strong backing yesterday in a meeting with President Bush. Mr Sharon planned talks with US congressional leaders, who have also been supportive of Israel in the Mideast fighting.
In today's bloodshed, Palestinian police in the West Bank town of Hebron said they found the bodies of two Palestinians suspected of providing Israel with information that helped the army kill a local militia leader.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia group affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility.
Police said they found spent cartridges close to the bodies, one of which was discovered in the exact spot where Marwan Zalloum the local leader of the militia was gunned down by an Israeli helicopter on April 22nd.
In its leaflet, the militia claimed the two men had helped Israel track down Zalloum. Dozens of suspected collaborators have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began 20 months ago.
In a farm area outside Hebron, a bomb went off as about 40 Israeli teenagers, all of them aged 15 or older, finished helping with a cherry harvest, and were walking through a gate to board a bus. The blast was south of Hebron, near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, according to the Settlers' Council.
Three 15-year-old boys were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem to be treated for leg, arm and chest wounds, the hospital said. One was seriously injured.
No one claimed responsibility, but Palestinian militants have carried out dozens of bomb attacks against Israelis in the current fighting.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers saw an explosion along the fence dividing the coastal territory from Israel. After a search, they found the body of a Palestinian who was apparently planting a bomb that exploded prematurely, the army said.
Also in Gaza, a Palestinian who opened fire at an Israeli civilian car, was shot dead by soldiers escorting the vehicle, the Israeli army said. The soldiers and the people in the car were not hurt.
In Tulkarem, about 10 Israeli tanks and 15 jeeps entered the West Bank city and several nearby Palestinian villages, conducting searches and preventing residents from leaving their homes. The army said soldiers were looking for militants, though no arrests were reported. The Israeli army also carried out a brief incursion overnight into the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.
Israeli troops entered Ramallah in force early yesterday, encircling Mr Arafat's compound and clamping a curfew on the Palestinian commercial hub.
The army said it has detained more than 30 suspects in Ramallah, including a suicide bomber who was preparing to attack.
Mr Yusef Tarifi, a lawyer and the son of Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Mr Jamil Tarifi, was among those arrested. The army confirmed the arrest but did not say why Mr Tarifi was taken into custody.
The army said it was encircling Mr Arafat's compound to prevent militants from seeking refuge there. It did not attack the headquarters itself as it did last Thursday, when soldiers blew up three buildings in retaliation for the suicide bombing a day earlier.
Mr Arafat remained inside the compound today and was unharmed, Palestinian officials said.
Outside his headquarters, the army blocked roads with earthen barricades and piles of rubble. Streets remained deserted and the army prevented journalists from entering the city, which it declared a closed military zone.
AP