Two Israelis were shot dead by Palestinians disguised as religious Jews at a West Bank settlement last night.
The two gunmen who launched the attack on Kiryat Arba settlement, near the divided city of Hebron, were among seven Palestinians killed by Israeli troops after having apparently launched attacks on three different Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
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An Israeli is wheeled into a Jerusalem hospitalafter being wounded in an attack on the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Araba
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Israeli troops are currently engaged in reoccupying parts of the northern Gaza Strip, creating fears the conflict was spiralling ahead of potential war in Iraq.
The Palestinians were also gearing up for major meetings set to start today after President Yasser Arafat reluctantly offered the new post of prime minister to dovish Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) veteran Mr Mahmud Abbas.
The attack on Kiryat Arba, a hardline settlement previously targetted by militants, was the first of two launched almost simultaneously last night.
Israeli military sources and media said the gunmen entered the settlement dressed as religious Jews and, like many settlers, were openly carrying weapons.
They opened fired and threw grenades before killing a husband and wife in their home.
Another eight people were wounded, the military sources said.
Two other Palestinians were shot dead by soldiers a short time later as they attempted to infiltrate the nearby Nahal Negohot settlement in an apparently coordinated operation which left no Israeli victims.
Earlier in the day, another three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, just south of Gaza City.
Israeli military sources said the three were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and opened fire on a convoy of Israeli cars. A military escort returned fire, killing all three assailants, they said.
Palestinian security sources claimed the three were farmers and not gunmen.
Some 60 tanks and armoured vehicles took up positions in open areas near Gaza City overnight, the second major incursion in the area in as many days after an raid into the nearby Jabalya refugee camp claimed the lives of 11 Palestinians on Thursday.
AFP