Israel destroyed two homes of Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Hebron this evening after gunmen shot dead four seminary students at a nearby Jewish settlement, military sources said.
Israeli troops shot and killed the two gunmen who had entered the dining hall of a religious seminary in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Otniel and opened fire on students as they prepared for their Sabbath meal last night, the army said.
Two of the four seminary students killed were unarmed off-duty soldiers, participating in a program that allows religious youth to study and do military service, an army spokesman added.
The militant Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the Otniel shooting near the West Bank city of Hebron, saying it was carried out to avenge Israel's killing of eight Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Thursday.
Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks that have killed scores of Israelis since the start of the Palestinian uprising for independence, which began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.
The army said it razed the homes of two militants on the outskirts of Hebron today.
Palestinian witnesses said one of the homes belonged to a member of the Al Aqsa Brigades, a militant group affiliated with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, and the second was owned by an Islamic Jihad militant.
Palestinians and human rights groups denounce house demolitions as collective punishment. Israel says they are necessary to deter suicide attacks.