Two Israeli officers were killed by one of their own troops who mistook them in the dark for Palestinian gunmen near an army base in the West Bank, the
military said on Thursday.

A spokesman said the officers, both majors in a commando unit, were killed after firing warning shots towards a suspicious figure in the Jordan Valley following a night time exercise on Wednesday.

"A soldier in the unit mistook their actions for a Palestinian attack, and as a result of (his) fire, the two officers were killed," the spokesman said on Kan public radio.