GAZA CITY, Jan 7 (AFP) - Two Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip Friday, and an Israeli soldier was killed and three others wounded by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank, medical and security sources said.
A 21-year-old Palestinian identified as Mohammed Ayad was killed by Israeli tank fire east of Gaza City Friday, Palestinian medical sources said.
There was no comment from the army and the exact circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear.
Earlier Friday, a Palestinian attempting to infiltrate the southern Gaza Strip Jewish settlement of Ganei Tal was shot dead by Israeli troops, military sources said.
An Israeli army spokesman said no weapons were found on his body, which was later retrieved by Palestinian medics.
Meanwhile, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a car south of the West Bank city of Nablus Friday, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding three others, an army spokesman said.
The attackers managed to flee, and Israeli troops launched a manhunt in the area, the spokesman said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of the mainstream Palestinian Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to AFP in the West Bank.
The army said the four men were off-duty soldiers, adding that one of the wounded was in serious condition and another in critical condition.
The latest deaths brought the overall toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian intifada to 4,675, including 3,629 Palestinians and 971 Israelis, according to an AFP tally.
01/07/2005 20:26 GMT - AFP