Ramallah, Sep 25 (IANS): Two Palestinians were killed and an Israeli soldier wounded during exchange fire in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
"Osaid Abu Ali, 21, and Abdul Rahaman Abu Daghash, 32, were killed after being shot in their heads with live bullets by the Israeli soldiers who stormed Noor Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm," said Ameen Khader, the director of Tulkarm Hospital, on Sunday.
Palestinian security sources told Xinhua news agency that tens of Israeli soldiers, accompanied by a military bulldozer, stormed the Noor Shams refugee camp to arrest Palestinians wanted by Israeli security forces who clashed with Palestinian militants.
Local eyewitnesses said the Israeli military bulldozed a number of the camp's streets, destructing property and infrastructure, Xinhua news agency reported.
Palestinian armed factions in the camp said in a statement that their fighters were involved in violent and fierce clashes with the Israeli soldiers, and detonated homemade explosive devices in Israeli vehicles, which led to casualties among them and damaged their vehicles.
The Israeli Army said in a press statement that "an Israeli soldier was moderately wounded during a security operation carried out on the Palestinian refugee camp".
It added that Israeli Army forces, engineering, police, and members of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) participated in the security operation in the Noor Shams camp.
"During the operation, our Army destroyed a building that included a room used as a control point to operate Palestinian militants to carry out attacks against Israelis, and also destroyed dozens of ready-made bombs and many components for manufacturing explosive devices," said the statement.