RAMALLAH – Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank yesterday after entering a refugee camp to make arrests, medical officials and the military said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said rioting broke out in the Qalandiya camp, near Ramallah, during “a routine operation to arrest Palestinian suspects”. Five soldiers were slightly injured, she added.
Palestinian medical officials said two men, aged 23 and 25, were shot, one in the head and the other in the stomach. The spokeswoman said the army was investigating the incident.
A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas condemned the shooting. “This is an Israeli attempt to create an atmosphere of escalation ahead of September,” he said.
Palestinians plan to apply for full UN membership for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza in September. – (Reuters)