Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian in a West Bank village today while two militants were apparently killed by their own bomb in Gaza.
Israeli military sources said gunmen had opened fire on the soldiers as they mounted an arrest raid in the West Bank village of El Ar and in the ensuing battle the patrol shot one of the gunmen, who the military said belonged to the militant Islamic Jihad group.
Witnesses from the village said they had heard an explosion followed by an exchange of fire.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli military sources said two Palestinians died near a Jewish settlement when an explosive device or belt in their possession apparently went off prematurely.