Two Palestinians were killed and a third was wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank early Friday, Palestinian health officials said, as conflicting claims about the incident emerged.
The shooting near the city of Nablus, the West Bank's second largest, was the latest sign of escalation in recent months, The Associated Press reported.
The Israeli military said troops at an army post south of Nablus opened fire after being shot at from a passing car. It said troops identified two suspicious vehicles and responded with live fire, reporting “hits.” The army did not specify whether this referred to people in the cars being killed or wounded.
An armed group, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, portrayed the incident as an attack and said its fighters were involved, but was short on specifics. The group is an offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Ishtayyeh, claimed the two men were killed in cold blood, but did not provide evidence.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified those killed as two men from the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, ages 47 and 35. Ishtayyeh said they worked for the Civil Defense, a department in the Palestinian self-rule government that includes firefighters and other emergency services workers.
The shooting came three days after Israeli forces raided a stronghold of a small armed group in Nablus, blowing up a bomb lab and engaging in a firefight. Five Palestinians were killed at the time, including a leader of the group, which calls itself Lions' Den.
