Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank

RAMALLAH - Two Palestinians were killed in separate clashes with the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

A 25-year-old man from the al-Ein refugee camp in Nablus was shot in the neck and a 26-year-old man from the Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem was shot in the heart, the ministry statement said.

The military said in a statement that it was aware of reports of two Palestinians killed during overnight operations in the West Bank.

The statement said that in the town of al-Bireh near Ramallah, soldiers responded to disperse "violent riots," in which rocks and Molotov cocktails were hurled at them, and in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, Israeli forces responded to fire with fire.

Israel's Army Radio reported that the man in Nablus was struck by Palestinian gunmen, citing checks by Israeli security officials.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian authorities.

The Israeli military has been conducting near-daily raids in the West Bank since the start of the year and these often lead to Palestinian casualties. The raids have intensified in recent months since a spate of deadly Arab street attacks in Israel.

Israel says the raids are a security measure targeting suspected militants. Palestinians consider the raids a form of collective punishment and say they are fighting against decades of Israeli occupation.