Israeli troops shot dead three wanted Palestinian militants today in the West Bank town of Tulkarm, an Israeli army spokeswoman said.
Witnesses said they saw Israeli soldiers raid the town at dawn and start shooting. The army spokeswoman said troops encountered the militants on the town's outskirts and shot them at close range.
Palestinian medical sources said all three men were wanted militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah group. The Israeli army said one of the men was the local leader of the Brigades.
The army spokeswoman said troops found rifles and sleeping bags in a nearby hideout but could not confirm if the militants were armed when they were shot.
The shootings occurred a day after Israeli soldiers killed nine Palestinians, including four gunmen, during a raid in the town of Bet Lahiya in the Gaza Strip.
The army said it was searching for militants firing makeshift rockets at Israeli towns and Jewish settlements in Gaza. During the raid, troops came under heavy fire from gunmen.