Ramallah/Tel Aviv, Mar. 31, (dpa/GNA) - Two young Palestinian men were killed during a raid by Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
A 17-year-old and a 23-year-old were fatally wounded during the operation at a refugee camp in Jenin, while three others were in critical condition, the ministry in Ramallah said.
The military operation followed a bloody series of attacks in Israel in which 11 Israelis were killed within a span of about a week.
The Israeli army said soldiers had been in Jenin to arrest several suspects and that, in the process, a gunbattle broke out. One soldier was injured.
Footage from the scene showed military vehicles and heavily armed soldiers, an ambulance, and a person lying on the ground.
In two of the recent attacks on Israelis, the assailants were Arab Israelis. All three were supporters of the Islamic State terrorist group. In the latest attack – on Tuesday in the community of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv – the assailant was a Palestinian from near Jenin.
In a separate incident on Thursday, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli with a screwdriver on a bus in the southern West Bank, the army and emergency services said.
A civilian bystander on board then killed the assailant. It was initially unclear what weapon the civilian had used.
Israel fears a further escalation of violence before the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starts at the weekend.
The army is supporting the police with 1,000 soldiers to improve the overall security situation, and additional forces have also been deployed to the West Bank.
GNA