Israeli troops have shot dead two Palestinians in the town of Nablus in the West Bank.

Local residents said the two men belonged to the military wing of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which claimed it helped carry out Monday's suicide bombing in the Israeli city of Eilat.

"A force identified two gunmen and fired at them during an operation in Nablus," an Israeli military source told Reuters news agency.

The Israeli army has raided the occupied West Bank several times since three people were killed in the suicide attack.

The suicide bombing, the first in Israel for nine months, was claimed jointly by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad.

Israeli forces seized a member of Islamic Jihad in Nablus on Wednesday, the army said. The man's wife was seriously wounded during the raid.

A ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Palestinians in November has brought to halt military operations in the Gaza Strip but does not apply to the West Bank were raids continue.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians carry the body of Hamas commander Hassan al-Shorbasi, who was killed by gunmen on Tuesday, during his funeral in the southern Gaza strip January 31, 2007. (REUTERS)