NABLUS, Jan 7: Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinians early Wednesday as violence flared again in the troubled West Bank town of Nablus just hours after a pullback by the army.

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops in Nablus overnight, Palestinian security sources said, naming one as Ibrahim Attari, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

Another Palestinian, Abdelafu Qassas, was also killed, they said. Israeli sources confirmed both deaths, saying Attari had been killed after brandishing a pistol at soldiers, while Qassas had been shot while hiding in a bush.

Troops wound down a lengthy operation in Nablus on Tuesday with some 50 armoured vehicles seen pulling out of the town centre. But the army insisted it would continue operations against the "terrorist infrastructure" when necessary.

Six Palestinians were killed during the 11-day operation to round up wanted militants. Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, Hisham Khrewesh, a 20-year-old member of Hamas, was shot dead during a shootout with Israeli troops in Tulkarem refugee camp.

An army spokesman claimed Khrewesh's death, saying he had shot at troops who returned fire. The latest deaths brought the toll from the nearly 40-month-old Palestinian uprising to 3,692 people killed, including 2,766 Palestinians and 860 Israelis.

Palestinian sources said troops in Jenin arrested Muntasser Abu Ghalyun, a local Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader, and Dib Horani, a correspondent from Lebanon's Al-Manar television station.

Troops also arrested 25 other Palestinians overnight on suspicion of involvement in 'terrorism', the army said.-AFP