RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Two Palestinians were killed during a firefight with Israeli security forces who had entered a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.
Several Palestinian gunmen were wounded in the shootout while one of the men who died was unarmed, according to Palestinian health and security officials. The identity of the second fatality was unclear.
The violence erupted when Israeli security officers who had entered the town of Nablus were spotted by Palestinian security officers and militants, according to a spokesman for the Palestinian Fatah movement.
The Israeli military said that forces were operating in Nablus but gave no further details.
Nablus has been a flashpoint for violence since Israel began a crackdown in the West Bank in March in response to a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
