Bethlehem: Israeli undercover special forces today killed four Palestinian militants, including two senior leaders of the radical Islamic Jihad, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

The incident broke a tense lull in the violence that has wracked the Gaza Strip as both Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers denied a tacit truce had been agreed.

The West Bank dead included Mohammed Shahaa, 48,a top leader in the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and Ahmed al-Balbul, 48,a senior official in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group loosely tied to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas s Fatah party, Palestinian security officials said.

The other tow men were identified as Imad al-Kamel and Eiss Marzuk, both militants in Islamic Jihad.

An Israel army spokeswoman confirmed an undercover special force carried out the attack in the Bethlehem south of Jerusalem.

Source : PTI