JERUSALEM: Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and wounded several others during separate raids in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
It said 16-year-old Nader Rayan was shot and killed, and three other Palestinians were wounded, in a raid in the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Another Palestinian, Alaa Shiham, who was in his 20s, was killed in Qalandia, just outside of Jerusalem. The ministry said six other Palestinians were wounded in Qalandia and taken to a hospital.
Israel’s paramilitary Border Police said forces entered Balata to arrest a suspect who had an M-16 assault rifle in his possession. As they left, a group of Palestinians hurled stones and firebombs at them. The Border Police said forces “neutralized” a Palestinian who opened fire on them. There were no reports of any injuries among the Israelis.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the operation in Qalandia.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel says its military and police operations are aimed at combating terrorism, while the Palestinians view them as a means of maintaining a nearly 55-year military occupation that shows no sign of ending.