Israeli forces have raided the Palestinian town of Tulkarim, killed two policemen, arrested five suspects and sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip after a bomb attack at an Israeli shopping centre killed at least three Israeli women.

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian policemen early on Wednesday during a raid on a West Bank town in what the army called a retaliation for a bombing that dealt a blow to a five-month-old ceasefire. 

The occupation army said the policemen had fired on troops hunting down members of resistance group Islamic Jihad.

Troops fired at a Palestinian security post, killing a policeman and wounding another in what witnesses called an unprovoked attack.

Military sources said the army shot back after two soldiers were wounded by fire from Palestinian armed men.

Curfew and arrests

Troops also declared a curfew on Tulkarim, in effect taking back control of an area that Israel handed back to Palestinians in March under the terms of an unofficial ceasefire declared in February.

Brigadier-General Yair Golan, commander of the West Bank division of the Israeli army, said the operation was open-ended. Witnesses said about 20 military vehicles were involved in the raid.

Troops also arrested five people suspected of being members of Islamic Jihad in the Tulkarim area of the northern West Bank, just hours after the Palestinian resistance group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack where a bomber blew himself up at a shopping centre in Netanya, 12km from the West Bank, killing three Israeli women and wounding dozens of people.

"Five Islamic Jihad terrorists have been arrested during IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activity in the Tulkarim area during the night and early this morning," an army spokeswoman said. 

Islamic Jihad claim

Al-Quds Brigades, linked to the Palestinian resistance group Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, reported Aljazeera.

Israeli police and Palestinian security identified the bomber as Ahmad Sami Abu Khalil, an 18-year-old member of Islamic Jihad.

Aljazeera correspondent Walid al-Umari said the bomber came from Atil town, north of Tulkarim.

In a statement after the attack, Islamic Jihad said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreed to in February but reserved the right to retaliate for Israeli violations, such as arrests of the resistance group's members.

Military sources said the Israeli army was still in Tulkarim, but were unable to confirm whether the five detainees were wanted directly for Tuesday's attack, saying only that all of them were active members of Islamic Jihad.

The army also sealed off the occupied West Bank and Gaza

Strip early on Wednesday.

The ban on Palestinians entering Israel will mean that thousands of Palestinians who have work permits will not be allowed to enter Israel for work.

The military said the ban, a routine security measure after such an attack and approved by the government, would be in effect until further notice.

Will pullout continue?

Meanwhile, James Wolfensohn, the Middle East quartet's special envoy for the Gaza Strip pullout, expressed hope on Wednesday that Tuesday's attack would not affect the withdrawal. 

"I would hope that it does not because that's just what the terrorists want," the former World Bank chief said. 

"I think there's a real interest for both peoples to bring about a peaceful resolution," he told Israeli public radio. 

Israel is due to withdraw all its troops and between 8000 and 9000 settlers from Gaza in an operation beginning next month.

"My central point is that not only was this a terrible attack on the Israeli people but also an attack on the Palestinian people because it makes the chance of a resolution of the conflict, in a way that the Palestinian people are striving for peace and hope, much more difficult," Wolfensohn said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Morgue workers show the body of Palestinian policeman Mohammed Shehada at the hospital in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, Wednesday, July 13, 2005. (AP)