Israel kills 4 Palestinians in West Bank

JENIN, West Bank, Oct 17 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Palestinian fighters and a civilian today during raids to arrest suspected militants in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

Thirteen other people were wounded in fighting near the West Bank town of Jenin, where troops killed an 18-year-old member of the Islamic Jihad group, and later, a civilian, the officials said. Five gunmen were arrested.

Israeli troops often raid the occupied West Bank looking for militants. At least 230 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank since Israel intensified its raids after the capture of a soldier near the Gaza border in June.

The Israeli military confirmed both incidents, saying in the first case that it had identified an Islamic Jihad gunman and opened fire with live ammunition.

In the second incident, the military said it had used rubber bullets and said it believe the person killed was a militant, not a civilian.

Separately, Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian militants in a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The men belonged to Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, the officials said.

Witnesses said the two were killed at close range by an Israeli undercover unit.

The Israeli military said it was checking the report.

Soldiers also arrested seven Palestinians in raids throughout the West Bank, a military statement said.

The violence came as Israel stepped up military action against militants firing rockets at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip, in raids that have killed 21 Palestinians, mostly gunmen, since Thursday.

REUTERS LL VV2227