Israeli soldiers kill two Gaza militants

GAZA: Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian militants near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Israeli military sources said soldiers fired at the two men as they approached the settlement carrying what appeared to be an explosive device.

The militant Abu el-Reesh Brigades affiliated with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction said the two men, from the Gaza town of Khan Younis, were shot while planting a bomb beside an army jeep.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hopes to evacuate the Gaza Strip in 2005, dismantling all of the settlements there as well as four others in the West Bank.

Palestinian militants seek to portray the Israeli withdrawal as a victory, but Israel hopes to prevent that by smashing the gunmen before the pullout. reuters

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