Israel kills 3 Palestinian 'attackers'

The Israeli army said troops shot dead two Palestinian teenagers who were throwing stones at cars in the occupied West Bank yesterday after coming under fire from one of them.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian tried to stab an Israeli paramilitary policeman at a checkpoint in the West Bank, near Jerusalem, and was shot dead, police said.

Israeli soldiers have killed at least 161 Palestinians, 105 of whom Israel says were assailants, while the others were shot dead during violent anti-Israeli protests, as the bloodshed persists into a fifth month.

Stabbings, shootings and car rammings by Palestinians have killed 27 Israelis and a US citizen since early October.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said two 15-year-old Palestinians were killed.