Israel destroyed two homes of Palestinian Activists in the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday after gunmen shot dead four seminary students at a nearby Jewish settlement, military sources said. Israeli occupation troops shot and killed the two gunmen who had entered the dining hall of a religious seminary in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Otniel and opened fire on students as they prepared for their Friday night Sabbath meal, the occupation army said.

Two of the four seminary students killed were unarmed off-duty occupation soldiers, participating in a program that allows religious youth to study and do military service, an occupation army spokesman added.

The resistance Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the Otniel shooting near the West Bank city of Hebron, saying it was carried out to avenge Israel's killing of eight Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip  on Wednesday and Thursday.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks that have killed scores of Israelis since the start of the Palestinian uprising for independence, which began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

The occupation army said it razed the homes of two Activists on the outskirts of Hebron on Saturday
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Palestinian witnesses said one of the homes belonged to a member of the Al Aqsa Brigades, a resistance group affiliated with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat 's Fatah  faction, and the second was owned by an Islamic Jihad activist.

Palestinians and human rights groups denounce house demolitions as collective punishment. Israel says they are necessary to deter resistance attacks.

The United States has appealed for calm after more than two years of Israeli-Palestinian violence to help Washington win Arab support for a possible war on Iraq.

But Islamic Activists in Gaza City on Friday pledged to continue attacks.

"They should not feel safe," Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said of Israelis at a rally marking the 15th anniversary of the founding of the group, responsible for dozens of resistance bombings since the start of the Palestinian uprising.

ISRAEL BLAMES ARAFAT

David Saranga, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, blamed Arafat for the Otniel attack, saying his Palestinian Authority provided the "infrastructure" for resistance attacks.

Arafat has called for an end to such attacks, while describing raids on Jewish settlers as "self defense" because armed settlers have attacked Palestinians.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Reuters: "This (Otniel attack) is the result of Israel's assassination policy and the killing of Palestinian civilians."

Palestinian activists have often targeted Jewish settlements during their fight for statehood and against Israeli occupation in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The international community considers settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.
At least 1,748 Palestinians and 675 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian revolt began.

PHOTO CAPTION

Detained Palestinians sit on the ground at an Israeli checkpoint after breaking a curfew in the West Bank city of Hebron, December 28, 2002. Israel destroyed two homes of Palestinian activists in the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday after gunmen shot dead four seminary students at a nearby Jewish settlement, military sources said. Israeli occupation troops shot and killed the two gunmen who had entered the dining hall of a religious seminary in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Otniel and opened fire on students as they prepared for their Friday night Sabbath meal, the occupation army said. (Loay Abu Haykel/Reuter