Israeli army kills two Palestinians

Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians today, one of them armed, and demolished the homes of two Islamic Jihad gunmen who carried out a weekend attack in which four Israelis were shot dead.

Also today, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a group of reserve soldiers refusing to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but avoided making a landmark ruling on the legality of Israel’s occupation of the territories.

A Palestinian gunman dressed in an Israeli army uniform fired on soldiers after penetrating the security fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip, the army said. Soldiers returned fire and killed the man, who was armed with two assault rifles, grenades and ammunition clips.

Infiltrators are often killed attempting to break through the electronic fence that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip. There have been very few cases in which militants have succeeded in crossing the barrier.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian who was throwing stones at them, witnesses said.

A Palestinian witness said Jamal Zabara was lighting a petrol bomb when soldiers shot him in the head. Zabara died in hospital.

The army confirmed its soldiers had fired on Palestinians in Nablus who were hurling petrol bombs and stones at troops.

And in the Hebron-area village of Dura, the army demolished the homes of Ahmed Ayed Faqih, 20, and Mohammed Mustafa Shahine, 20, as part of its “continuing war on terrorism and its infrastructure”. The two killed four seminary students - including two off-duty soldiers – in a Jewish settlement Friday night before being shot dead themselves.