By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Palestinian suicide attacks have sown so much fear in Israel that ordinary citizens are rushing to get special training in how to spot, subdue and if necessary, kill would-be bombers.

One Israeli combat instructor even prescribes a lethal bite to the neck as a last resort to stop the attacker hitting the switch on explosives hidden under his shirt or in a handbag.

"For a civilian who finds himself in the terrorist's 'kill zone', flight may not be an option, so fighting is the next best thing," close-combat specialist Itay Gil said.

"The trick is to overpower the man in time, isolate his hands, and neutralise him with no hesitation, saving yourself and as many other innocent people as possible," he told Reuters.

Police officials, hard-put to contend with bombings which have killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded thousands more during a Palestinian uprising raging since September 2000, see no immediate threat that such training could be abused.

"Everyone has the right to self-defence," said police spokesman Gil Kleiman, adding that he knew of no cases where lethal force was wrongfully used against suspected bombers.

At his Jerusalem academy, Itay Gil teaches a growing clientele of security firms, bodyguards and ordinary Israelis basic moves designed to give them a fighting chance.

In one manoeuvre, he and a partner grabbed a trainee instructor posing as a bomber by the shoulders, pushed him to the ground and pummelled his head with their elbows. They then showed how a bomber's arms can be broken if needed.

Throughout the demonstration, the "bomber" was prevented from reaching his replica 10-kg (22-lb) explosives belt.

Facing suicide bombers alone means more drastic action.

With a feint to the trainee's side, Gil grabbed his elbows in an arm-lock and then kicked out his legs from behind. Once they were both on the ground, Gil simulated how to bite an attacker in the neck.

"You go for the carotid (artery), and let him bleed out -- it shouldn't take more than two minutes," said Gil, a former member of the Israeli police SWAT team, or Yamam. "The main thing is to keep your hands free to stop him detonating.

NO GUARANTEES

But there are no guarantees.

Twice last month, vigilant Israelis spotted Palestinians with bomb belts under their shirts and confronted them, yet something still went fatally wrong.

In one incident, on a highway outside Tel Aviv, two men held down a bomber who had tried to board a bus. And then they bolted, allowing him to detonate his load, killing an elderly woman pedestrian who was unable to flee.

In the second incident, three soldiers at the Jewish settlement of Ariel overpowered a militant, and an armed bystander shot him in the head. Yet the bomb still exploded -- possibly set off by another bullet aimed at the bomber's abdomen -- and the soldiers were killed.

Police officials were cautious in praising the actions.

"We generally advise civilians who see something suspicious to notify the authorities and stay clear," Kleiman said. "In these cases, though, the fact the explosions were delayed in each case meant other (bystanders) had a chance to get away."

Human Rights Watch, a leading U.S.-based watchdog group, last week condemned suicide bombings as "crimes against humanity". But Palestinians say they are a justified response to Israeli military operations which have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians in the occupied territories in just over two years.

"Really all that matters about suicide bombers is that they are tactically advanced, a serious explosives charge connected to a human mind," said Kleiman, a former member of the police bomb-disposal unit.

"Even if we stop 99 percent, there is always that one percent that gets through and wreaks havoc. And that's when it is up to normal civilians to decide how brave they want to be."

For Gil, it is a matter of bravery by default: "If you're going to die anyway, you have nothing to lose."