Two Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli forces in the northern occupied West Bank after they opened fire on soldiers, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a senior Palestinian official.
"
I commend the soldiers who eliminated two terrorists who opened fire on them near Elon Moreh
", a settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus, wrote on Twitter Mr. Gallant.
The Israeli army said it had "
neutralized two armed assailants
" who fired from their vehicle in the direction of Elon Moreh's military position.
The soldiers discovered several weapons in the area, including two M-16s, according to a military statement which specifies that there were no injuries in the ranks of the army.
A senior Palestinian official told AFP that he had been informed of the death of these two Palestinians, who were not immediately identified.
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Outbreak of violence
This comes against the backdrop of an outbreak of violence since the beginning of the year, particularly marked for nearly a week, punctuated by deadly attacks, rocket attacks from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, followed Israeli reprisals.
Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.