ARIEL JEWISH SETTLEMENT (West Bank), Oct 27: Three Israeli soldiers were killed when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at a West Bank Jewish settlement on Sunday, while two Palestinian men were killed in a gunbattle with Israeli troops to the north in Nablus.

A Palestinian teenager was also killed by an Israeli sniper in Jenin, under curfew after the army swarmed in on Friday after a devastating bomb attack on an Israeli bus last week.

After the suicide bombing, claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, enraged settlers from a nearby Jewish community attacked Palestinian farmers and foreign peace activists trying to protect them.

The three soldiers — two of them officers — were killed when they tried to tackle the well-dressed Palestinian bomber, spotted at a gas station at the entrance of Ariel, a settlement of 15,000 people halfway between Ramallah and Nablus.

Israeli media said it was possible a bullet fired by a soldier had detonated the bomber’s explosives, although it was not clear if he set off the charge himself as he was challenged by the soldiers.

Medical sources said 17 people were admitted to hospital for treatment, three of them in serious condition.

The blast was the second suicide bombing in a week, after two militants from Islamic Jihad rammed an Israeli bus with a jeep packed with explosives last Monday, killing 13 Israelis.

Sunday’s blast was claimed by the Al Aqsa group, who said the bomber was 19-year Muhammed Shkeir from Nablus to the north.

Just hours later, a special Israel undercover unit raided Ras El Ayin in Nablus, although it was not immediately clear if the operation was linked to the kamikaze attack.

Two Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire that erupted when gunmen spotted the Israeli unit in an unmarked civilian car.

The two were identified by Palestinian officials as Ahmed Jadallah, 24, and Ala Khadari, 23.—AFP