'Collaborators' shot in West Bank

The executions were carried out by members of two different groups

Gunmen have publicly executed two men accused of collaborating with Israeli intelligence in the Palestinian areas.

The two were shot dead in the West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem after the playing of a video tape of their "confessions".

In a separate incident, in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops shot dead a gunman after Israeli civilians were wounded in an ambush.

The gunman had opened fire on a car carrying Israelis near the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif. At least two women were lightly wounded by broken glass.

Troops in the area returned fire, killing the unidentified gunman.

Public exposure

Local security officials said the two men killed in Tulkarem, aged 21 and 25, were accused of betraying a wanted militant.

Masked gunmen dragged them into an alley just after daybreak and shot them at close range, a witness told the Associated Press news agency.

The bullet-riddled bodies were then dragged into Tulkarem's central square and propped up for people to see before relatives were allowed to collect them.

The previous evening, a video of the two men "confessing" to the alleged collaboration had been shown in the square.

'Betrayal'

The two men were abducted two weeks ago with six other men by militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and Islamic Jihad, Palestinian sources told AP.

They were suspected of disclosing the hideout of a leading al-Aqsa member, Sirhan Sirhan, who was shot dead by Israel security forces in Tulkarem on 4 October.

A spokesman for al-Aqsa said the masked gunmen who carried out Thursday's executions were drawn from both groups in order to "share the honour".

According to an Islamic Jihad member who spoke to AP, the two men executed had been "responsible for many deaths in Islamic Jihad and other groups".