Israeli soldiers patrolling the West Bank shot and killed three Palestinians today, part of a continuing army sweep against militants in the area.
The Israeli army has been involved in action against militants in the northern West Bank since mid-December. Twelve Palestinians have been killed by army gunfire over the past nine days.
Palestinian witnesses said Naim Atari and Aboud Kasas, both alleged members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia loosely affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah party, were killed during an arrest operation in Nablus.
It was not clear if they had been resisting, the witnesses said. An Israeli army spokesman said troops shot and killed one Palestinian in Nablus after he drew a pistol and threatened to fire on them. The spokesman said the second was killed after refusing repeated commands to give himself up.
A third Palestinian was killed in Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank, the spokesman said. He said troops returned fire on the man during an arrest operation.
Palestinian witnesses identified the dead man as Hisham Haraish, 21.
