3 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in West Bank

HEBRON, RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA/AFP) – Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry.

A ministry statement said that one fatality occurred in the town of Beit Ummar near Hebron city and the two others in the village of Kafr Ein, northwest of Ramallah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated 22 Palestinians injured by Israeli fire in Beit Ummar.

According to local residents, violent clashes erupted between Israeli forces and angry Palestinians during an Israeli military raid.

Israeli forces used live fire, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas canisters during the clashes, they said.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank in recent weeks amid repeated Israeli raids to detain what they call “wanted Palestinians” or to demolish Palestinian homes. The raids spark clashes with Palestinians, causing several fatalities.

The Palestinian ministry said a man it did not identify had died “after being shot in the head.”

It named the dead in Kafr Ein as brothers Jawad Abdulrahman Rimawi, 22, and Dhafer Abdul Rahman Rimawi, 21.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.

Palestinian Authority civil affairs minister Hussein Al Sheikh described the killing of the two brothers as an “execution in cold blood.”

Hamas, the Islamist movement which runs Gaza, said the Israeli “escalation” would be “confronted by escalating resistance” from Palestinians.

Violence has flared this year in the West Bank, where the Israeli army has launched near-daily raids across the territory.

This week the army announced it had made more than 3,000 arrests this year as part of Operation Break the Wave, a campaign it launched following a series of deadly attacks against Israeli civilians.

The United Nations says more than 125 Palestinians have been killed across the West Bank this year. Israel has occupied the territory since the Six-Day War of 1967.