Two Palestinians killed by Israeli troops in WB

According to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, Aboud Sobh, 29, and Muhammad Al-Azizi, 22, died in Rafidia Hospital in Nablus after being seriously injured during clashes with Israeli forces.

At least 19 other people were hospitalized, with one of them suffering serious gunshot wounds in the head.

The violent clashes occurred after Israeli forces and their vehicles stormed Nablus from several directions and surrounded the Al Yasmina neighborhood in the Old City.

The occupation forces also deployed several snipers on the roofs of buildings in the Ras al-Ain area, firing bullets and rocket-propelled grenades.

The Israeli soldiers were, however, forced to withdraw from the West Bank city after a three-hour raid, with Palestinian medics and ambulances rushing to the area to attend to the casualties.

Israeli forces were also reported to have had clashes with Palestinians after storming the flashpoint city of Jenin.

Palestinian authorities announced a day of national mourning in Nablus following the martyrdom of the two young men.

In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied West Bank.

As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested over protests at the regime’s settlement expansion across the Palestinian territories.

About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East al-Quds as its capital.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in several resolutions.