Tel Aviv – Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military operation in Jericho in the southern West Bank, according to hospital reports.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Tuesday said that a 16-year-old and a 25-year-old from the local refugee camp Akbat Jaber were shot and killed.
A 20-year-old was arrested during the operation.
An Israeli army spokesperson said the reports were being investigated.
The security situation in Israel and the West Bank has been tense for a long time.
Since the start of the year, 24 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed in attacks by Palestinians.
In the same period, 178 Palestinians have been killed, most in Israeli military operations, or else during violent clashes or attacks of their own.
The majority was armed combatants, but innocent civilians are also often killed in military operations.
There were also repeated reports of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, Israeli activists or soldiers.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem have been under Israeli occupation since being taken during the 1967 Six Day War.
More than 600,000 Israeli settlers now lived there.
The Palestinians had claimed the areas for their own state. (dpa/NAN)
