Violence in Mideast Leaves 3 Israelis Dead

In a series of violent episodes Tuesday, two Israelis were shot dead in the West Bank, an Israeli was gunned down in neighboring Jordan, and two Palestinian youths were injured in clashes in the Gaza Strip.

With violence grinding on, no political initiatives appeared on the horizon. The Palestinians again appealed for an international force of observers to protect them from what they called Israeli aggression.

After nightfall, a 40-year-old Israeli motorist was shot while driving near the West Bank city of Nablus and died of his wounds, the military said. The man, who was from a nearby settlement, was shot from a passing car, the army said. A medic told Israeli radio that he died of bullet wounds.

The circumstances behind the killing of two other Israelis, one in the West Bank and the other in Jordan, were unclear.

Wael Ghanem, an Israeli Arab, was shot and killed as he drove toward the Jewish settlement of Tzofim in the West Bank, not far from where an Israeli woman was killed Sunday.

Palestinian security sources said Ghanem was a collaborator with Israeli security during the first Palestinian uprising, from 1987 to 1993. He moved to Israel and received citizenship, they said, indicating that he might have been killed because of his background.

However, he was driving a car with yellow Israeli license plates on a West Bank road where a similar shooting attack had taken place, raising the possibility that Palestinian gunmen thought they were targeting an Israeli settler. More than 30 settlers have been killed in ambushes and drive-by shootings since September.

In Jordan, an Israeli businessman, Yitzhak Snir, was shot and killed outside his apartment in the capital, Amman.

Two extremist Arab groups claimed responsibility, but Jordanian officials said the killing might have been criminal in nature. Snir, 51, a diamond dealer, had set up a joint venture with a Jordanian businessman.

In the Gaza Strip, clashes erupted near the Israeli army post along the border with Egypt. Palestinians threw grenades and firebombs at Israeli troops, who fired back. Two Palestinians, ages 12 and 13, were hurt, hospital doctors said.