Israelis kill three Palestinian as violence spirals

JERUSALEM: Israeli security forces killed three Palestinians Saturday during a raid in the West Bank, police said, the latest deaths in a surge of violence.

The bloodshed comes amid heightened tensions ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, that has seen violence spiral in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

Last year during Ramadan, clashes that flared between Israeli forces and Palestinians visiting Al-Aqsa mosque in annexed east Jerusalem led to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and the Hamas.

During the operation, four Israeli soldiers were also wounded, one of them seriously, the police said.

The Islamic Jihad, which is based in Gaza, confirmed the "death of our three hero fighters" from the West Bank, identifying them as Saeb Abahra, Khalil Tawalbeh and Seif Abu Labdeh.

Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said they were slain in an "extrajudicial killing" and "horrible crime".

Israel's leaders "must stop committing crimes and violations against our Palestinian people, respond to their legitimate rights to freedom and independence, end the occupation and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital", he said, quoted by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned in a tweet on Saturday that the security forces would "act forcefully against any attempted attack" on citizens of the Jewish state.

Saturday's clash is the latest in a spate of bloody violence in Israel and the West Bank since March 22.

- IS-linked attacks -

On Friday, Israeli forces shot dead a 29-year-old Palestinian during confrontations in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Wafa named him as Ahmad al-Atrash, who it said was taking part in a protest against Israeli settlements and had previously served six years in an Israeli prison.

The Israeli army said that during a "riot" in Hebron, "a suspect hurled a Molotov cocktail" at soldiers, who "responded with live fire".

Hebron, the biggest city in the West Bank, is home to about 1,000 Jewish settlers living under heavy Israeli military protection, among more than 200,000 Palestinians.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 70 people were wounded in Friday's clashes with the Israeli army in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank.