MORAG SETTLEMENT, Jan 12: Four Palestinians and an Israeli settler were killed in a spike of violence in the West Bank and Gaza on Wednesday, puncturing the optimism that has greeted the election of a new Palestinian leader.

The settler and two Palestinians, allegedly members of the Islamic Jihad, were killed in an attack on the Morag settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, one of 21 due to be dismantled later this year.

And two Hamas activists were killed in a shootout near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The violence was the worst flare-up since moderate Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority on Sunday.

"Three terrorists entered Morag in the morning and lay at least four explosive devices. A jeep ran over at least one device, killing an Israeli civilian and injuring three soldiers," an army spokesman said.

Immediately after the blast, two of the attackers were gunned down by troops while the third fled unharmed, an army spokesman said. Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP, said two of its members who had taken part in the operation were killed.

Earlier, two Hamas activists were killed by occupied troops in Qarawat Banizeid village near Ramallah. Commenting on Wednesday's flare-up and the killing of a Palestinian a day earlier, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei condemned 'the army's assassination of two Hamas activists and an activist from the (Fatah-linked) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades". "This does not show positive intentions on the part of the Israeli government," he said. -AFP