Two killed as gunmen attack Jewish settlement

Two Jewish settlers were killed and four wounded when Palestinians opened fire on mobile homes in the West Bank early today.

One gunman was killed by security guards and a second escaped from the Karmei Tsur settlement, apparently to the nearby Palestinian town of Halhoul, the Israeli army said.

Several Israeli armoured vehicles drove into Halhoul, and helicopters trained searchlights in the area, witnesses said.

In recent months, there has been an increase in attacks on Jewish settlements by Palestinian gunmen. In a shooting attack May 28, three Israeli teenagers were killed while playing basketball in the Itamar settlement near Nablus.

The latest settlement attack came as Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon prepared to leave for Washington, where he will meet US president George Bush on Monday.

Bush is consulting Middle East leaders, including Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak this weekend, before revealing his plan for putting peace negotiations back on track.

While Mubarak is expected to appeal for a firm timetable for establishing a Palestinian state, Sharon will try to persuade Bush not to commit to dates, said a Sharon adviser. Sharon will also tell Bush that he will not negotiate a peace deal until Palestinian attacks on Israelis stop.

Saturday’s attack on Karmei Tsur in the southern West Bank began some time after 2am (midnight BST). Two gunmen opened fire on a group of mobile homes on the outskirts of the settlement, the army said. It was not immediately clear whether the attackers entered the homes, which house newcomers to the settlement who are waiting to move into permanent homes.

The Magen David Adom rescue service initially said three Israelis were killed, but the army said one of the bodies found at the scene was that of a gunman killed by settlement security guards. Four Israelis were wounded, including two who were in a serious condition.

‘‘Once again we are witnessing an act of terrorism being launched from the Palestinian territories, as a result of the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to take action against terrorism,’’ the military said in a statement.

There was no immediate Palestinian Authority comment.

Yesterday Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accused Israel of waging a ‘‘dirty war’’ against the Palestinians.

In 21 months of fighting, Israel’s military has repeatedly raided Palestinian areas and carried out large-scale arrest sweeps in response to attacks by Palestinian militants.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, troops enforced a curfew today on Jenin, the home town of a

Palestinian suicide bomber who attacked an Israeli bus earlier in the week, killing 17 passengers and himself. About 30,000 residents of Jenin were confined to their homes.