Israeli shot dead by Palestinian gunmen in Bethlehem

Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem tonight.

Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem tonight.

Medical sources said the man was driving through the town when he was ambushed by gunmen, who shot him in the neck. He died shortly afterwards.

It was not clear if the gunmen escaped, and the Israeli army refused to comment on the incident.

Palestinian residents of the Bethlehem area said Israeli troops imposed a curfew across the entire town and surrounding villages.

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Earlier today, an eight-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops firing at stone-throwers in the West Bank town of Qalqilya, Palestinian medical and security sources said.

Hassan al-Ghul was standing in the street with a group of other youngsters when he was hit, they said. Another five Palestinians were wounded in the incident, two of them critically.

The latest deaths bring to 2,939 the number of people killed since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000, including 2,193 Palestinians and 690 Israelis.

A spokesman for the Israeli army said soldiers opened fire at three Palestinians who threw Molotov cocktails, injuring them.

Earlier, four other Palestinians were shot in clashes in Qalqilya, medical sources said.

Palestinian youths lobbed stones at the jeeps and tank which rumbled into the town in search of militants, and soldiers fired back at the protestors, hitting four, the medics said.

AFP