RAMALLAH: Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

Fawzi Mukhalifa, 18, “was killed by the occupation (Israeli) bullets in the town of Sebastia” late on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Earlier on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry reported the death of Mohammed al-Bayed near the city of Ramallah.

Bayed died from injuries sustained by live bullets fired by Israeli forces in the village of Umm Safa, it said, while Israeli border police accused him of attacking officers.

The force said in a statement a “violent disturbance” had broken out “during which suspects threw stones and explosives” at Israeli forces.

“A security guard responded by shooting at a suspect who threw a bomb,” the statement said, adding that “a hit was detected”.

Israel’s border police said that during the clash in the village of Umm Safa near the city of Ramallah, “masked suspects threw stones and rocks endangering the lives of troops.”

A border policeman responded with fire and “a hit was identified,” it said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a resident of the village had been killed.

In a separate incident, Palestinian medical officials said a Palestinian was killed when Israeli troops fired at a car driving near the city of Nablus. Another was wounded and detained, they said.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the report.The army said troops had responded to “a car ramming attempt” in the northern West Bank town “by firing towards the suspects who were in the vehicle. The driver was neutralised.” Another “suspect” who had been in Mukhalifa’s car was wounded and arrested, the army said.

Published in Dawn, July 23th, 2023