By Samer Khuwayera, IOL Correspondent

TULKAREM, April 22 (IslamOnline.net) – Four more Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in West Bank and Gaza Strip early on Thursday, April 22, one day after the occupation forces gunned down nine Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Backed by helicopter gunships, several Israeli armored vehicles, including tanks, stormed the West bank town of Tulkarem and laid siege to a house, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net.

The Israeli troops broke into the house, killing three activists of the Fatah military wing, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, after fierce clashes, they added.

Palestinian medical sources said the trio were rushed to hospital with their bodies riddled with bullets, something which they said made their initial identification hard.

A spokesman for the Israeli army claimed that two of the activists were involved in attacking a Jewish settlement in the vicinity of Tulkarem on April 3, which left one Jewish settler dead.

The three activists were identified as Bilal Abu Amsha, 30, Ghanem Ghanem, 29, and Ayman Barahma, 30.

Amasha is said to be the leader of Aqsa Brigades in Tulkarem.

The Israeli forces also detained seven Palestinians in the West Bank, including Aqsa Martyrs Brigades activists.

More Casualties

In the meantime, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian boy in of Beit Lahia in the third day of an incursion into the northern Gaza strip city.

This came one day after nine Palestinians were gunned down by the invading army during the same operation.

Aljazeera said the boy was killed near a centre for rehabilitating the crippled in the city, adding the Israeli troops demolished the center, with no reasons cited.

The occupation forces also thrust into the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip, destroying eight houses, eyewitnesses and a Palestinians security source said.

At least 25 armored vehicles were seen rolling into the borderline town for the incursion, still going on Thursday.

The incessant sweeps of the occupation forces have drawn outrage among local inhabitants.

The new fatalities brought the overall toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian Intifadah against the Israeli occupation to 3,930, including 2,961 Palestinians and 899 Israelis.

On Tuesday, Israel announced a total ban on the travel of Palestinians under 35 from the Gaza Strip till further notice, permitting no exceptions even for humanitarian cases.

The mounting Israeli escalation came few days after U.S. President George W. Bush gave Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon what was dubbed as a "Bushfour Promise".

Bush said Palestinian refugees could not return to land lost in 1948 and Israel should keep occupied territories in the West Bank under any future peace settlement.