In Israel, Pentagon chief says US ‍‍`disturbed‍‍` by settler violence

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, on a visit to Israel, expressed concerns on Thursday about Jewish settler violence against Palestinians and warned against acts that could trigger more insecurity.

The US defence secretary held talks in Israel as flaring violence killed three suspected Palestinian militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and protesters rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‍‍`s hard-right government.

Late Thursday, a gunman shot and wounded three people on a Tel Aviv street in what police said could be a "terrorist attack".

Austin said, in a joint news conference with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant, that the US commitment to Israel‍‍`s security was "iron-clad".

But the US remained "firmly opposed to any acts that could trigger more insecurity, including settlement expansion and inflammatory rhetoric," he said, adding: "We are especially disturbed by violence by settlers against Palestinians."

Thousands of Israelis opposed to the Netanyahu government‍‍`s legal reform plans had blocked roads in and around Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, forcing a last-minute change of venue for Austin‍‍`s talks.

Just hours before his arrival, undercover agents of Israel‍‍`s border police shot dead three suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank.

And hours after his press conference with Galant, the shooting occurred on a popular street in Tel Aviv, leaving one of the wounded in a critical condition, emergency services said.