Israeli soldiers kill 2 Palestinians in West Bank, Palestinian health ministry says

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, June 2 (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

In an early morning arrest raid near the city of Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers opened fire when locals threw homemade bombs and rocks at them, the Israeli army said.

One man was killed, though it was not clear if he was involved in the confrontations, Palestinian officials said. The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the killing.

“The escalation in field executions is clear evidence that the ruling Israeli coalition is implementing the plans and policies of the right and far right in the occupying state,” it said in a statement.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails, said the man killed had been released from an Israeli jail in 2014. It did not elaborate on the reasons for his detention.

Later on Thursday a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire after he approached Israel’s West Bank barrier, according the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the report.

Violence in territories where Palestinians seek statehood has simmered since U.S.-sponsored peace talks stalled in 2014. It has flared since January, with Israeli raids that have killed at least 46 Palestinians and Arab street attacks that have killed 19 people in Israel and the West Bank.

Reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Christina Fincher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.