Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, the army chief of staff, said dozens of people began throwing stones at the youngsters in Beita and the shooting started. He said the Israeli girl and the two Arabs were killed during the battle.

Israeli television showed CBS footage of Israeli teen-agers inside the village, some with blood stains on their faces and clothes, screaming at cameramen to called the army for help.

One Israeli youngster wearing a yarmulke, the traditional head cover of Jews, waved a red scarf at a helicopter hovering overhead as Arab ambulance attendants rushed the wounded into their vehicles.

A cameraman was seen consoling a girl who crouched beside a puddle of blood.

Shomron told reporters outside Beita some residetns tried to help the Israeli youngsters, including several women who hid three girls inside their homes.

"I want to say that within this event there were locals who tried to protect the children from the others," Shomron said. "We certainly thank those who helped."

The army said one teen-ager was held hostage briefly, but was found by soldiers in a house-to-house search.

Arab witnesses claimed the Israelis provoked the clash.

They said the armed guards fired on Arabs who approached the Israelis, killing a 19-year-old Palestinian, and his angry companions then charged the hikers.

"The first man who was killed, Mousa Saleh Abu Shamseh, was plowing his land," said Mohammed Abbas Aly, 20, who said he was in the field when the fight took place.

"When people heard a farmer was killed they attacked the settlers with axes, picks and rocks. There was hand-to-hand fighting," Aly said in an interview at Al Ittihad Hospital in Nablus.