HIGHLIGHTS: Three Settlers Wounded in Explosion Near Hebron, Al-Khalil||Settlements Expanding Under Sharon||Two Collaborators Shot Dead in & Near Hebron, Al-Khalil Respectively|| STORY: At least three Israeli Settlers were wounded by an explosion near their armored bus outside the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Kiryat Arba is near the city of Hebron, Al-Khalil, which is dominated by a Palestinian population of more than 100,000. An enclave was carved in the heart of the city after in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war where a few hundred Jewish settlers now live guarded by the Israeli army of occupation. (Read photo caption)

Palestinians waging a 20-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have frequently targeted settlers.

Settlements built on occupied Arab land are not legal under international law. As such Palestinians consider them legitimate targets in the war they are launching to liberate their territory from Israeli occupation.

SETTLEMENTS EXPANDING UNDER SHARON

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has steadily continued the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank during the 20-month-old conflict with the Palestinians, in which control of the land is a main point of contention.

In the past few months, Israeli settlement agencies and settler organizations have set up the nuclei of three dozen new settlements, according to two Israeli groups that monitor construction and oppose the program. A Western diplomat estimated the number at 40. The rolling West Bank landscape is dotted with more water towers, more electrical generators and more mobile homes inhabited by small clusters of armed Jewish settlers under Israeli army guard, the groups reported
The continued colonization builds on a 30-year-old national project that has progressed without letup since Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war. Land confiscations and construction have continued no matter who ruled the country -- coalitions of the left or right, cabinets in favor of or against peace talks.

TWO COLLABORATORS SHOT DEAD

Earlier, the bodies of two Palestinians were discovered in Hebron. One of the bodies was that of a Hebron University public relations official, the second that of a worker.

Palestinian sources said the two - Ayman Joulani and Anan al-Ashab - were suspected of aiding Israel. They were reported missing for two weeks.

Joulani was shot dead in A-Salame Street and Al-Ashab was shot outside Hebron University. Palestinian police said they found spent cartridges close to the bodies.

One of the bodies was found near where local Fatah-Tanzim commander, Marwan Zaloum was assassinated by Israeli security forces several weeks ago.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli occupation soldier patrols the Palestinian-controlled area in the West Bank town of Hebron, Al-Khalil, Monday June 10, 2002 during a brief incursion in which 15 Palestinians were arrested. (AP Photo/ Nasser Shiyoukhi)