Israeli occupation forces in the area were put on full alert following the attack

Additional Reporting by Mustafa el-Sawaf, IOL Correspondent

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, April 10 (IslamOnline.net & news agencies) – Two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight others injured when Palestinian gunmen attacked an Israeli military post in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank early on Thursday, April 10.

The attack took place a day after the Israeli army killed 12 Palestinians, including children, in an air strike and an incursion into a Gaza town.

The Palestinian gunmen managed to break into the post to the east of Tobas in northern West Bank, Israel Radio reported.

They exchanged fire with the Israeli soldiers, leaving two deaths in each side, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted military sources as saying.

A Palestinian commando opened automatic gunfire on a "group of Israelis" who returned fire, the source said, without saying whether the Israelis were settlers or soldiers.

Israeli occupation forces in the area were put on full alert following the attack and called on settlers not to leave their houses until further notice.

Palestinian residents were also prevented from leaving for their farms or work.

No Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for the attack and the identities of the attackers or to which group they belong has not yet been identified.

The deaths brought to 3,149 the number of people killed since the September 2000 start of the Palestinians Intifada against Israeli occupation, including 2,370 Palestinians and 721 Israelis.

The attack came one day a radical right-wing Jewish group claimed responsibility for an explosion which injured 29 Palestinian children in a school in the northern West Bank.

Also Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces gunned down three Palestinians and wounded several others in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun, a few hours after Israeli F-15 and Apache helicopters killed seven Palestinians in a residential area in Gaza City.