Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed two
Palestinians during a gunbattle in a West Bank village on
Sunday, an Israeli military source and Palestinian medics said.

The military source said troops returned fire after being
shot at from a building during a pre-dawn raid in Roujib, near
the city of Nablus.

Palestinian witnesses said those killed were a 48-year-old
woman and her 20-year-old son. Medics said four other family
members were wounded.

The witnesses said the family had opened fire at people
whom they thought were trying to steal their car.

The military source had no details on the dead or wounded
but said arms and munitions had been found in the building.

The fatalities were the first Palestinian deaths since
Thursday when a Palestinian bomber blew himself up and Israeli
troops killed two Palestinians in the West Bank town of Jenin.

The incidents have broken a relative lull in violence since
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke
on Jan 4.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been struggling to
contain internal disorder in the run-up to Palestinian
parliamentary elections on January 25.