Ramallah, May 9 (IANS): Two Palestinians were shot dead in separate incidents in the northern and central West Bank amid flaring tensions in the region, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

On Sunday night, Mo'tasem Attallah, 17, was killed by a civilian at an Israeli settlement in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Xinhua news agency quoted the Palestinian Health Ministry as saying in a statement.

"A terrorist armed with a knife entered the community and a civilian shot him," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, a 27-year-old Palestinian man was killed by Israeli soldiers as he tried to cross the security fence between the West Bank and the Jewish state.

Arram was shot by Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm.

The Israeli army said the force "fired at him in accordance with arrest procedures".

Arram was taken to the hospital but later died of his wounds, according to the army.

The Hebrew-language Ha'aretz newspaper reported that he was a resident of the Gaza Strip who entered Israel in 2019 to seek medical care and has not returned to the besieged enclave ever since.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been flaring in the past few weeks.

According to official figures, 18 Israelis and over 20 Palestinians have been killed in several shooting and stabbing attacks since March 22.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye condemned the killings and described them as "horrific crimes committed against the Palestinian people".

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that security forces have launched a large-scale operation to arrest Palestinians who stayed in Israel without permits.

"An entire industry has developed around the smuggling, transportation and employment of the people present in Israel illegally," he said.

Hamas, the militant organisation that rules the Gaza Strip, said that killing two Palestinians in the West Bank "in cold blood" is condemnable.