2 Palestinian militants die in clash with troops after infiltrating Israel from Gaza

Gaza gunmen infiltrate Israel, die in firefight

JERUSALEM — Israeli troops killed two Palestinian militants who had infiltrated Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Friday, the military said.

The firefight between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants took place across the border from the southern Gaza Strip. Security forces sealed off the entrances to the four Israeli communities in the area, where thousands of people live, until the gunbattle was over.

The military said it was not aware of any other militants having eluded troops. It said the gunmen entered Israel by cutting the security fence along the border.

Hamas security officials confirmed two militants had been sent on an operation to attack Israel and clashed with soldiers near the Israel-Gaza border. The radio station of the Islamic Jihad militant group said its fighters had been sent on an unspecified mission.

Hamas security officials said Israeli tanks crossed into Gaza after the infiltration and fired shells.

The military said it was unaware of such activity. A soldier who was in the area after the infiltration was lightly wounded by Palestinian gunfire, the military said, without elaborating.

Also Friday, a Hamas legislator from east Jerusalem who was released from an Israeli prison earlier this week said Israel has given him until June 19 to leave the city or be expelled.

Mohammed Abu Teir and three other senior Hamas officials were stripped of their Israel-issued Jerusalem residency papers in 2006 because of their membership in the violently anti-Israel group.

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Associated Press writers Rizek Abdel Jawad and Dalia Nammari contributed to this story from Gaza City, Gaza Strip and Ramallah, West Bank.