TEL AVIV, March 7: Three Israelis were shot dead when four Palestinians attacked two Jewish settlements near the southern West Bank city of Al Khalil on Friday, before themselves being gunned down.

In the first of the almost simultaneous attacks, three Israelis were killed by two of the men who entered Kiryat Arba, official said.

Those militants were themselves then shot dead by large numbers of Israeli soldiers who rushed to the area, they said, adding that another eight people were wounded in the attack.

Israeli public radio earlier spoke of four soldiers among the wounded.

The three Israeli victims were all members of the same family, Kiryat Arba’s mayor, Tzvi Katsover, told the television.

Katsover confirmed the attackers had disguised themselves as Jewish religious students in order to enter the settlement.

He added that the settlement’s 6,500 inhabitants had been ordered to stay inside their homes.

Israeli public television had earlier said the attackers had taken refuge in one of the settlement’s houses, although it was unclear if that was where the Israelis were killed.—AFP