A Palestinian resistance man killed two Jewish settlers before being shot dead near the settlement of Rafah Yam in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation army sources said.A third settler was wounded in the shootout which occurred Wednesday among greenhouses close to the settlement, part of the Gush Katif bloc.

The Palestinian was killed by the settlement's security chief, the sources said.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack by loudspeaker announcements broadcast through the Palestinian town of Khan Yunis, which is just a few hundred metres (yards) from Gush Katif.

They identified the attacker as Ismail Bress, but gave no further details.

The deaths brought to 2,648 the numbers killed in the 25 months of the Palestinian uprising, including 1,958 Palestinians and 641 Israelis. The rest are made up of foreigners.

Suspected resistance bomber foiled at Tel Aviv airport

A suspected resistance bomber was arrested overnight after a manhunt around Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, Israel public radio reported.

Three other Arabs were arrested by police during the operation, according to the report Wednesday, which did not say whether the suspects were Palestinians or Arab Israelis.

Israeli police were alerted by the Shin Beth internal security service and set up numerous roadblocks in the area, and around the airport, creating major traffic jams.

The suspected bomber was arrested in a car which was stopped at a checkpoint, the radio said, adding that a state of alert remained in place due to the continued risk of an attack.


PHOTO CAPTION
An Israeli occupation bulldozer destroys a factory in the West Bank