Palestinian gunmen wounded four Israelis, two of them soldiers, in two separate attacks on Thursday in the occupied territories that shattered a two-week period of calm, the Israeli military said. In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian gunman attacked an Israeli checkpoint with grenades and gunfire, wounding two soldiers, an Israeli military source said. Soldiers fired back at the gunman, killing him, Israeli media reported. Palestinian medics had no comment. Jewish settlers said a Palestinian passer-by was also wounded in the incident at the Orchan junction, north of a Jewish settlement bloc in southern Gaza. The soldiers were the first Israeli casualties in nearly two weeks of calm that has prevailed since Palestinian police have deployed to rein in militants in Gaza, under orders from the recently elected moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. A military source said the gunman had emerged after dark from a vehicle whose driver had claimed it had broken down at the checkpoint. After the troops told the Palestinians to push the vehicle away, a gunman jumped out, threw grenades and shot at soldiers. --More 2331 Local Time 2031 GMT
