Nablus: Israeli forces killed two Palestinian militants on Friday, Palestinian sources said, in what the Israeli military said was a response to a shooting at soldiers in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military said its forces shot at “two suspicious vehicles” after a passing car fired at one of its posts near the city of Nablus, which has been the focus of a surge in violence in the West Bank over recent months.
No soldiers were injured and troops were searching for additional suspects, it said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the dead men as Emad Abu Rasheed, 47, and Ramzi Zabarah, 35, both from Askar refugee camp near Nablus. It said a third man was wounded.
The militant al-Aqsa Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, claimed the two slain men as members.
According to Facebook posts by the Palestinian Civil Guard, the Palestinian Authority’s emergency and rescue service, the two men were also among its ranks.
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, coordinates security with the occupying power, Israel. The Israeli military did not respond to a question on the men’s affiliation with the Palestinian Civil Guard.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the killing and said Israel was fully responsible.
Read the article by Ali Sawafta in WAToday.