A Palestinian Authority court in the occupied West Bank has sentenced two Palestinians to 15 years in jail for killing two Israelis last month.

The Palestinians shot two off-duty but armed Israeli soldiers who were hiking near the city of Hebron.

Two other Palestinians were also killed in the gun battle.

Speaking on Tuesday, Samil al-Safi, a security official in Hebron, said the two "were criminals who carried out a criminal act against Israelis".

He said the attack had "aimed to destroy the safety and security for the Palestinian security plan in the West Bank".

Israeli rescue workers said a third person, a woman in her 20s, hid from the attackers to avoid being shot.

Shortly after the shooting in the village of Halhul, Hamas and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack.

But al-Safi said the two accused were not affiliated with either of the groups.

Israel has said it will not loosen its grip on the West Bank until the security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, rein in fighters there.

Abbas's government condemned the attack on the soldiers and has said it was meeting its security obligations by carrying out a crackdown in West Bank cities.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli troops patrol the site where the two off-duty soldiers and two Palestinians were killed [AFP]

Al-Jazeera