ARIEL, West Bank - (KRT) - A Palestinian suicide bomber, detected as he walked toward a gasoline station in the West Bank, blew apart during a struggle with Israeli soldiers and civilians, killing three Israelis and injuring 15 other people, police and witnesses said.

The explosion near one of the largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank occurred Sunday morning. Soldiers waiting at the gas station heard a worker shout that there was as terrorist on the premises. The Palestinian was quickly subdued, witnesses said, but then two gunshots rang out. That's when the explosion sprayed body parts and shrapnel across a small crowd of people who had run from the station and a nearby convenience store and hotel in an effrot to restrain the suspect.

Police could not say Sunday whether the Palestinian somehow touched off the explosion or whether the gunshots, one from a soldier and one from a passerby, hit the attacker's explosive belt. Forensic tests will try to determine whether the bomber or the bullets detonated the bomb, police said.

A passerby told Israel Television that he shot the bomber in the head during the struggle.

"Without thinking, I shot him in the head," said Shahar Keshet, a student in his 20s, who had stopped to buy gasoline. Keshet suffered shrapnel wounds from the blast.

There was confusion Sunday night over which Palestinian militant group the suspect was representing. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, quickly claimed responsibility and named a 19-year-old man from Nablus as the bomber.

A few hours later, the militant group Hamas released a statement, claiming responsibility and naming a 22-year-old university student, also from Nablus. Hamas "condemned the irresponsible way of declaring responsibility" by other militant factions.

Analysts said Sunday night that the confusion might be linked to the possibility that two attacks had been planned and the militant groups were unsure which attacker had made a successful strike. Hours later, Israeli troops shot and killed two armed Palestinain militants in Nablus, according to Israeli media.

The attack near Ariel occurred as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced a showdown over funding of the controversial Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer, head of the Labor party, threatened to vote against Sharon's budget this week if allocations to the settlements are not cut.

Ben Eliezer is demanding that $147 million be shifted from settlements to pensioners, one-parent families, students and poor towns. Security costs for Jewish settlements have soared in response to increased militant attacks during the past two years of unrest. There are about 145 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Sharon made it clear on Sunday that political parties that voted against the budget could not stay in the ruling coalition, according to media reports. Sharon stressed the important of maintaining a fragile national unity government, particularly in the face of mounting American interest in pursuing an attack against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The budget vote is expected Wednesday.

Ariel, 28 miles north of Jerusalem, has been a target of other militant attacks, including an attack in March at the Eshel Hashomron Hotel.

After the March attack in the hotel lobby injured 14 people, Israel Werner, a native of Hollywood who moved to Israel 12 years ago, was hired as a security guard for the convenience store next door.

Of Sunday's explosion, Werner said "It happened really fast. Six, seven seconds."

Soldiers, he said, often wait at the gas station for rides and a group was there when a gas station worker suddenly screamed, "Terrorist, terrorist."

The militant was toppled by bystanders, witnesses said. One soldier then sat on the militant's legs and two other men had his arms, Werner said. He heard two shots and "immediately" an explosion.

"I assume one of the bullets made the guy go off," Werner said. The force of the blast threw Werner, about 10 yards away, another 10 feet back.

"I'm very fortunate," said the 37-year-old father of four. "I think I'm the only guy here who wasn't injured."

Yoval Petel, manager of a nearby convenience store, quickly sent several employees home. Since the bombing in March, Petel said, he packs a pistol and keeps a machine gun hidden below the customer service window, next to a display of soda.

"Business used to be very good but not now," Petel said. "Why did it happen here? Why does it happen anywhere?"

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