Two Israelis were shot dead today at a roadblock outside Bethlehem, a military source said.
In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers raiding a refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip shot and wounded seven Palestinians, and demolished three homes, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.
The army is investigating whether the attack on the two Israelis near the West Bank city of Bethlehem was a roadside shooting or the work of a sniper, the source said. Both of those shot died in a Jerusalem hospital, the source said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The shootings occurred at the entrance to a highway outside the village of El Khader, not far from Bethlehem, the source said.
Army Radio said the shootings appeared to be the work of a lone Palestinian gunman who hid a Kalashnikov rifle in a blanket. He managed to flee the scene into nearby El Khader.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers raided a refugee camp in the Rafah area, in a "preventive" operation, an Israeli army spokesman said and declined to elaborate.
Palestinian medics said soldiers shot and wounded seven Palestinians, and that three were listed in serious condition, while at least three houses were destroyed.
An Israeli military source confirmed that soldiers fired at militants who either shot at them or attempted to plant explosives to ambush the troops.
In Rome, Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon said today he hoped to meet his Palestinian counterpart "in the next few days" to resume talks on implementing a US-backed peace "road map" that has been derailed by months of violence.