Israeli woman killed by Palestinians in drive-by shooting

Palestinian gunmen have killed an Israeli woman in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank.

The attack came as US Secretary of State General Colin Powell met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders for talks on the ceasefire.

A second woman in the car was slightly injured in the shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Ganim.

Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been frequent targets for attack during the nine months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the Islamic militant group Hamas burned US and Israeli flags in protest against Gen Powell's visit to the region.

Hamas, which has carried out a series of suicide bombings in Israel in nine months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, said it would not stop the violence.

The march was led by a group of children in military fatigues, holding up fake sub-machine guns.

Gen Powell arrived in the region to persuade Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a starting date for a six-week "cooling off" period.

He has met Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah.