ISRAEL: A Palestinian gunman who infiltrated a home in an Israeli farming community was shot dead by troops early yesterday morning, and the charred body of an Israeli who had gone missing was found in the West Bank.
In Gaza, three teenage boys, shot dead on Wednesday by the Israeli army as they scaled a settlement fence, were buried.
The attack in the community of Maor, located inside Israel several kilometres from the West Bank, began around midnight, with the gunman bursting into a home after his gun jammed.
The owner of the home, Mr Ronald Mori, said when he heard the "terrorist had a problem with his gun, I took all that I had on the table and threw it at him".
Mr Mori said he then shouted to his wife to flee. He also escaped, leaving behind the gunman, who was shot dead two hours later by Israeli security forces who had surrounded the house.
The badly-burned body of an Israeli man, Mr Massoud Elon (70), was found in a car in the West Bank yesterday afternoon.
Mr Massoud was apparently doing business in the West Bank village of Tamoun. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is associated with Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the killing, saying it was to avenge the death of one of its members at the hands of Israeli soldiers in Tamoun several months ago.
Some 1,500 mourners attended the funeral of the three teenagers killed near the northern Gaza settlements of Alei Sinai and Dugit. Army officers said the three - cousins Mohammed and Tareq Dawais, and a friend, Jihad Abed - were shot dead by troops after scaling the joint perimeter fence of the two settlements.
The army said the boys, aged 15 and 16, were found to be carrying a knife and wirecutters.
The older brother of Mohammed Dawais, Fares, said his brother had been determined to carry out an attack on Israelis.
Meanwhile, a court in Tel Aviv yesterday remanded Mr Marwan Barghouti, the captured head of the Tanzim militia, into custody during his trial. He is charged with heading a terrorist organisation in the West Bank. Mr Barghouti says he does not recognise the right of an Israeli court to try him.