Palestinian security officials identified the dead militants as members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.
They said the third victim is a teenager, who was shot dead near the barrier Israel is building on the West Bank.
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, the three-day-old ceasefire between Fatah and the governing Hamas faction appears to be holding, despite some gunfire.
And, in Washington, U.S.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is preparing to meet with representatives from the international Quartet on the Middle East on Friday to try to revive the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Secretary Rice is expected to hold a three-way meeting with Mr. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later this month.
Meanwhile, Israel's government says it is considering moving the security barrier it is building in the West Bank further into the territory to enclose two Jewish settlements.
Palestinians say the barrier, which cuts into sections of the West Bank, is a land grab. But Israel says the barrier is necessary to prevent Palestinian suicide bombings. - VOA News
Posted February 1st, 2007 by Dinka
