5:55pm UK, Sunday March 21, 2010

Huw Borland, Sky News Online

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians who tried to stab a soldier in the West Bank, the Jewish state’s army has said.

The military said a serviceman was on patrol near the Awarta security crossing, south east of Nablus, when the Palestinians attacked. Troops then opened fire, killing the pair.

Meanwhile, two Palestinian teenagers, who died during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank on Saturday, have been buried.

Osaid Kaddous, 17, and Mohammed Kaddous, 16, were fatally wounded at a riot in the Palestinian village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus.

Palestinians carry the body of Mohammed in Iraq Burin

The teenagers were the first Palestinians to die during weeks of protests against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – areas Israel captured and occupied in 1967′s six-day war.

Osaid was struck in the head by what a Palestinian medic who treated him said was a live bullet. Mohammed had been shot in the chest.

The Israeli army has denied live ammunition was used.

In a statement, the army said two Palestinians were hit by Israeli forces during what it described as an “illegal riot” in the village. Rubber bullets were used, it added.

Israeli police detain a Palestinian stone-thrower at a refugee camp in West Bank

Sky’s Middle East correspondent Dominic Waghorn said the deaths “jeopardise the intense international diplomatic activity that is going on to try and revive the chances of peace talks happening”.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US envoy George Mitchell, aiming to restart peace talks between the Palestinians and the Jewish state, were to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Barack Obama has also invited Mr Netanyahu to discuss Middle East peace efforts with him in Washington on Tuesday, the prime minister’s office said.

The villagers of Iraq Burin have been staging weekly protests over Israeli-imposed restrictions on access to farmland that lies near the Jewish settlement of Har Brakha.