“Two young men were rushed to the hospital with bullets in their chests,” the Jericho Hospital’s director told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 16-year-old Qusay al-Walaji and Mohammed Nujoom, 25, were shot in the chest by Israeli troops “during an attack on Jericho at dawn today” – the first deadly raid in months on Jericho.
Residents in the area said there were armed clashes with Israeli forces but it was not known whether the two slain men were involved. The raid lasted for less than an hour, the residents added.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has worsened over the past months amid Israeli raids on refugee camps in the territory, deadly attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages and Palestinian street attacks on Israelis.
The French news agency AFP reported that the two people killed in Jericho brings to 216 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces so far this year.
Some 28 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have also been killed, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.
