Two Palestinian men were shot dead by Israeli forces when the soldiers entered a village in the West Bank and opened fire on a crowd that was reportedly throwing stones.
The pair, aged 24 and 18, were shot by troops in two army jeeps who entered the village of Qurawat Bani Zeid, six miles northwest of Ramallah.
Rioting had erupted as the Israeli jeeps approached the village school and crowds of youths ran out to pelt them with rocks.
The village is an area which was autonomous until Israel reoccupied almost the entire West Bank last June after a series of suicidebombings.
Two others wounded when the Israelis opened fire, medics said. One of the men shot dead was reportedly trying to help one of the wounded at the time.
The shooting brings to 3,177 the total number of people killed since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, including 2,393 Palestinians and 726 Israelis.
Earlier today, a Palestinian suicide bomber at an Israeli train station north of Tel Aviv killed one Israeli and injured 13 others.
AFP