Israeli troops kill three Palestinians in Gaza

The three were shot dead after a lengthy armed exchange on the outskirts of the controversial Netzarim settlment, just south of Gaza City, at daybreak.

An Israeli military spokesman said three bodies had been recovered after a search around greenhouses on the outskirts of Netzarim, one of the 21 Gaza settlements due to be evacuated under a plan drawn up by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

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Israeli security forces have been on a heightened state of alert during the Passover holiday, which ends Monday, with Palestinian factions pledging to avenge the assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin three weeks ago.

In a joint statement issued in Gaza City, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said that their fighters "had fallen as martyrs during an armed exchange which lasted 30 minutes".

The Palestinian militants had opened fire and thrown "dozens of grenades" at the Israeli soldiers, the statement added.

Two of those killed were identified in the statement as Hamas follower Iyad Mahmud al-Tahrawi, 22, and 19-year-old Ahmad Khaled Hassan from Islamic Jihad.

The statement did not give the identity of the member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

A fourth fighter, who was also a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs, managed to escape, the statement added.

The Israeli army said that a group of around four gunmen had been spotted near greenhouses on the outskirts of Netzarim at about 5:00 am (0200 GMT).

"At some point this cell opened fire and threw hand grenades at the force," a spokesman told AFP.

"Three bodies have been recovered. Two were found in the hothouse and one was found by the security fence surrounding the community."

Netzarim, which has been described as "a bone in the throat" for the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip, is home to 65 Jewish families guarded by an entire army battalion.

Since the Palestinian uprising began some three years ago, nine soldiers have been killed defending the settlement.

Sharon is due to present his proposals to evacuate all the Gaza settlements, which form part of a wider "disengagement plan", to US President George W. Bush at talks in the White House on Wednesday.