Israel Army Says Soldiers Spooked

JENIN, West Bank –– The snapping of a tank tread, rather than an explosion, produced the loud noise that spooked Israeli soldiers who then opened fire on nearby Palestinians, killing a mother and her two preschool children, the Israeli military said Monday.

The military initially said a mine went off near the tank on Sunday. Searching for Palestinians they believed might have placed the explosives, members of the tank crew opened fire on nearby Palestinians.

The tank fire killed a 30-year-old Palestinian woman farmer and her children, ages four and six, who were picking grape leaves in the area, southwest of the Palestinian city of Jenin, Palestinian witnesses said.

The army expressed regret for the killings and said it would investigate the shooting. Military investigators found no traces of a bomb in the area, and an inspection of the tank found that its tread had come loose, causing the sound of an explosion that misled the crew, an army spokesman said Monday.