Three Palestinians killed; two Israelis wounded in territories

Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed three Palestinians, a civilian and two reportedly armed men, in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip yesterday.

Two Israelis - one of them a soldier - were moderately wounded in two incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

An infantry reserve force operating in villages east of Khan Yunis ensconced itself in a Palestinian house yesterday. When fire was opened at the soldiers, they fired back, killing a member of the Palestinian Authority security services. One of the soldiers was hit in the leg and was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.

When the fire exchange resumed some time later, another Palestinian was killed. Palestinian sources said he was 18-year-old Ahmed Al-Barim.

The third Palestinian was shot dead near the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip. Military sources said two Palestinians were some 100 meters away from the fence and did not heed the calls to stop. The soldiers fired at them, killing one. The army said the man who was killed had been laying bird traps and was not involved in terror activity.

Referring to the incident, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said a teenager was killed by IDF fire on the outskirts of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun. According to Palestinian officials, the teenager was unarmed.

A Kiryat Arba resident was moderately injured yesterday afternoon in a West Bank shooting attack north of Hebron. He was apparently attacked in his vehicle after slowing down when a flock of sheep blocked the road.

The three Palestinian shepherds motioned to him to stop. When he opened his car window, they approached the car. One of them aimed a gun at the Israeli's head and tried to shoot him .

The driver attempted to grab the gun and was hit by a bullet in the hand. He continued driving to the nearby junction, from where he was evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The Palestinians fled from the scene.