Crowds attend Hamas funeral

The militants' bodies are wrapped in Hamas flags

Thousands of Palestinians have attended the funeral of members of the Islamic militant group Hamas who were killed when Israeli forces raided the West Bank town of Nablus early on Tuesday.

Several speakers called for a return to suicide bombings, but there were also appeals for Palestinian unity.

In West Jerusalem, two Israeli women died of injuries sustained when a Palestinian gunman went on the rampage after the Israeli raid.

A Hamas military leader, Yousef Soragji, was among the dead

About 15,000 people are thought to have taken part in the funeral procession in Nablus, with hundreds carrying Hamas flags and the banners of other Palestinian factions.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, who went to the funeral, says the Israeli raid has really increased anger in Nablus.

She says people discount Israeli reports of a gun battle and believe the four Hamas members were killed in cold blood.

The Israeli army said as a result of the raid it had dismantled a large bomb factory.

Return to arms

Speakers at the funeral called for a return to suicide bombings, and the Hamas leader in Nablus confirmed to our correspondent that such operations would resume.

He said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat would understand the decision to return to arms which, he said, should be the strategy of all factions.

However, speakers at the funeral also stressed the need for Palestinian unity in the wake of the riot in Nablus against Palestinian police that followed the Israeli raid.

Thousands of demonstrators surrounded a police station in the town and forced the release of a militant - the brother of one of those killed.

US pressure

The United States is putting more pressure on Mr Arafat to stop attacks by militants, after Tuesday's shooting in Jerusalem.

The Israeli Government has blamed the Palestinian Authority for the attack in which two women later died of their wounds in hospital. About 20 other people were injured in the attack.

Police say the gunman fired on people at a bus stop and other passers-by for about 10 minutes before being shot dead.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade - a group linked to Mr Arafat's Fatah faction - said the gunman belonged to its organisation.