Israeli army kill two in West Bank clashes
Israel today shut down two West Bank universities as two Palestinians were killed in clashes with the army.
Hebron’s Islamic University and Polytechnic Institution were closed as part of the response to the Tel Aviv bombing that killed 22 people.
Israeli soldiers also sealed off the homes of four Jerusalem Arabs who had killed 35 people in several bombings.
In Tulkarem, troops entered the refugee camp to arrest militants, the army said. Fierce gun battles erupted at the entrance to the camp, Palestinian witnesses said.
A Palestinian militant detonated six bombs in front of the incoming soldiers, who shot him dead, the army said.
Mouhi Aldin Hamza, 16, was killed in the clash, Palestinian doctors said, but it was unclear if he was the militant the army was referring to.
In Kabatiya village near Jenin, Israeli troops surrounded a building where two militants belonging to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, were hiding and demanded they surrender, Palestinian witnesses said.
A fierce gun battle erupted between the soldiers and the gunmen, and a 42-year-old bystander was killed, witnesses and hospital officials said.
Relatives said Ribhi Zakarna was mentally ill. At the end, the two gunmen surrendered and were arrested by the troops, the witnesses said.
In the West Bank town of Jenin, soldiers held a 12-hour stand off with four wanted Palestinian militants, the army and Palestinian officials said.
The men, prominent members of the Jenin branch of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, finally surrendered and were taken into custody, the officials said.
Gun battles erupted sporadically between the soldiers and the gunmen and at least one soldier was lightly wounded, the army said.
More than 20 suspected Palestinian militants were arrested in West Bank sweeps overnight, the army said.
Israel has reoccupied nearly every major West Bank Palestinian city and town, except Jericho, since June.
Soldiers often impose curfew and conduct mass arrests in the areas.
