The bodyguard of a Hamas leader and two Palestinian teenagers were killed in an explosion in Gaza City house that Palestinians blamed on an Israeli helicopter strike, and which Israel said was the result of a bomb going off prematurely In the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed in a confrontation with Israeli occupation troops Tuesday morning in Jenin, Palestinians said. Also, a photographer for Agence France Presse was moderately injured when he was shot twice in the leg by occupation soldiers, witnesses said.

The occupation army said only that its soldiers shot at two armed men, and offered no information on Palestinian casualties.

The latest violence came as Israelis voted in general elections Tuesday. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hawkish Likud party was heavily favored to defeat its main rival, the dovish Labor Party, led by Amram Mitzna.

More than 26,000 occupation forces have been deployed around Israel for the voting after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned that Israel was expecting an "assault of terror" for the elections.

In the Gaza City blast around midnight Monday, Palestinian witnesses said they heard helicopters flying in the area prior to a huge explosion. The occupation army said it had nothing to do with the blast. No helicopters were in the immediate area, though helicopters did fire missiles into an open area in northern Gaza, about nine miles away, the army said.

Ismail Abu Shenab's Bodyguard Killed in the Gaza Explosion

The explosion severely damaged a two-story house and another home in the Sheik Radwan neighborhood, which is known as a base of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. Those killed included Mohammed Atel, 21, a bodyguard for a senior Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab, as well as Sabrin Salame, 15, and her brother, Mohammed, 17, Palestinian doctors said.

The teenagers were the children of a Hamas supporter who owned the home.

Eleven Palestinians were wounded in the explosion, three of them seriously.

In an unusual act, senior Hamas officials prevented reporters from interviewing the wounded at a local hospital. Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantisi told reporters outside the hospital that Israel had carried out a missile attack and "Sharon is offering this crime as a present for the election."

Hamas Threatens Revenge Attacks

Rantisi vowed Hamas would carry out revenge attacks against Israel. The resistance group has killed scores of Israelis, mostly in resistance bombings. In the past, Israeli helicopters have targeted Hamas members suspected of involvement in attacks against Israelis.

Jenin Confrontations

In the Jenin confrontations, Palestinian resistance men took to the streets as about 20 Israeli tanks and jeeps entered a neighborhood there, witnesses said.

One resistance man, Rashad Arabi, was killed by Israeli occupation troops and another Palestinian, who had thrown stones earlier, was shot and killed as he approached Arabi's body, Palestinian witnesses said. The occupation army said its troops entered the area for a "routine operation," and that its soldiers shot at two armed men.

Palestinians said Arabi belonged to Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement.

AFP Photographer Injured

About five minutes after Arabi was shot, an AFP photographer, Saif Dahlah, approached the body to take pictures and was shot at twice in the leg by occupation soldiers in an armored personnel carrier, according to witnesses.

Dahlah was wearing a bulletproof vest with "Press" written on it, said Mohammed Balas, a photographer with The Associated Press, who also was at the scene. Dahlah was evacuated to a local hospital where doctors operated on him.

Curfew & Enclosure Imposed on Six of Eight Palestinian Towns in the West Bank

In an effort to prevent attacks during the election, the army imposed a strict curfew in six of the eight Palestinian towns in the West Bank, and a closure in all the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which prevents Palestinians from going to Israel proper.

Seven Palestinians wanted by occupation forces were arrested overnight in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip, according to the occupation army.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed house in Sheik Radwan neighborhood of Gaza city, Tuesday Jan. 28. 2003. (AP Photo/Ad