Israeli troops shot dead three Palestinian gunmen today, widening an offensive against militants in response to renewed rocket salvoes from Gaza after Israel's pullout from the territory.
In spite of the violence, thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank voted in the final phase of municipal elections seen as a test of strength for rival factions before a parliamentary election in January.
Rocket fire abated on Tuesday in response to pleas from the Palestinian public for calm in Gaza to enable reconstruction after 38 years of occupation. However, Israeli military action continued against militant groups, in spite of a US call for restraint.
Israel has fired missiles and shells into Gaza since completing an evacuation of settlers and soldiers on September 12th. It has arrested hundreds of suspected militants in raids in the occupied West Bank, where large settlements remain.
Israeli troops swept into the northern West Bank town of Jenin overnight to arrest wanted militants and killed one who opened fire on them, an army spokesman said. The militant belonged to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of the mainstream Palestinian national movement Fatah.
Soldiers raided the nearby village of Burqin and shot dead two Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militants after they shot at the troops to resist arrest, the army said.
Palestinian witnesses said the two, identified earlier as Islamic Jihad gunmen, were shot by troops.
About 2,000 people joined a funeral march in Jenin for the three militants and gunmen in the crowd vowed to avenge the killings.
Soldiers arrested 12 suspected militants in the Jenin, Nablus and Bethlehem areas of the West Bank.
The wave of violence since last week has badly frayed a seven-month-old ceasefire and deflated hopes in Gaza of a swift economic upswing in the battered, poor coastal territory after the Israeli withdrawal.
The relapse into violence has dimmed hopes that Israel's departure from Gaza would pave the way for peace talks frozen since 2000. US officials advised Israel to exercise restraint.
Mr Sharon today denied media reports that he planned further unilateral pullouts in the West Bank, based on comments by a political adviser that such moves might be considered.