Two Palestinians shot by Israeli troops

RAMALLAH: Two Palestinians were killed and another was injured yesterday by Israeli soldiers’ gunfire in the village of Kofr Ni’ma in the suburb of the West Bank city of Ramallah, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.

The eyewitnesses said that Israeli soldiers opened fire at three Palestinians in the village, killing two of them and injuring the third one. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry in the West Bank said in a statement that the Palestinian liaison office that coordinates security affairs with the Israeli side informed the ministry that the Israeli army holds the bodies of the two Palestinians.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that Israeli soldiers in the village were attacked by a car that drove over them as they stood at the sideline of the road outside the village, adding that the Israeli army force opened fire at assailants, killing two and wounding a third one.

An Israeli army officer was critically wounded and another border police soldier was slightly wounded, the spokesman added.

There has been no immediate response from the Palestinian Authority and the identity of the three hasn’t been known yet. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, Israel’s army said its air force struck Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip on Monday in response to “explosive device” sent toward Israel attached to balloons.