WEST BANK (Reuters) -Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a teenager, during a raid in the occupied West Bank that touched off clashes with gunmen, medical officials and residents said.
In a statement, the army said troops came under fire during an operation at Aqbat Jabr camp to detain suspected Palestinian militants, and fired back.
Residents also told Reuters there were armed clashes but there was no immediate corroboration that the two fatalities – aged 16 and 25, according to the Palestinian health ministry – had taken part.
The raid lasted for less than an hour, the residents added.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the killings, accusing Israel of undermining a meeting of the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaderships on Monday to discuss prospects of reviving peace talks stalled for almost a decade.
Violence in the West Bank, among territories where the Palestinians seek to establish a state, has worsened over the past 15 months with stepped up Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks and assaults by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages.
Israel captured the West Bank, which Palestinians hope will form the core of a future independent state, in a 1967 war.
Israel has since settled the territory, while the Palestinians are split between a Western-backed administration and armed Hamas Islamists who reject coexistence with Israel.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Enas Alashray; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Miral Fahmy and Ed Osmond)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.
Source: The Print
