Ramallah, Jun. 2, (dpa/GNA) - Two Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said on Thursday.
A 24-year-old was shot dead during clashes near Jenin, while a 29-year-old was killed in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, the ministry said.
Violence erupted in Dheisheh after Israeli security forces moved in to arrest a terrorist suspect, according to the Israeli army.
Explosive devices and stones were thrown at the soldiers, prompting the Israeli forces to fire back, the army said.
Near Jenin, according to the military, soldiers were sent to demolish the former home of an attacker who killed five people in Bnei Brak in Israel in late March.
During the operation, hundreds of Palestinians threw stones and incendiary bottles and set tyres on fire. Armed Palestinians also fired at soldiers, prompting retaliatory fire by the troops, according to the Israeli army account.
Police officers had shot dead the assailant in the attack in Bnei Brak. But Israel uses house demolitions as a further deterrent aimed at other would-be Palestinian attackers and their families. Human rights organizations consider this collective punishment a violation of international humanitarian law.
Since March, 18 people have been killed in a wave of terrorist incidents across Israel. An Israeli security guard and a soldier have also been shot dead by Palestinians in the West Bank.
For weeks, the Israeli army has been conducting raids in parts of the occupied territory. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 30 Palestinians have been killed since late March. Some of them were killed in Israeli military operations, but others were killed while committing their own attacks or in clashes with the army.
GNA