A PALESTINIAN teenager was killed as he tried to stop militants from planting a bomb to attack Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, while beleaguered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat faced new protests.

At least six Israeli soldiers were killed today when their armoured personnel carrier drove over a bomb during clashes with Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces battled Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City today, killing at least three Palestinians, while nearby an Israeli vehicle rolled over a large bomb, wounding several people inside, witnesses and officials said.

A militant Palestinian group that claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Israel today vowed to send suicide bombers to Iraq to fight off US and British forces.

Palestinian militants on an explosives-packed boat blew themselves up when intercepted by an Israeli navy patrol off the Gaza Strip today, wounding four Israeli soldiers, the army and Palestinians said.