Three Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces in West Bank

Three Palestinian men have been killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say.

Two were brothers in their 20s who were reportedly shot dead as clashes broke out with Israeli troops near Ramallah.

Israel's military said suspects threw petrol bombs at troops during an operation and that they returned fire.

The third man was shot dead after two Israeli army jeeps out on patrol broke down near Hebron.

The military said its forces were shot at and that improvised explosives were thrown at them.

Israel carries out search-and-arrest raids almost every night in the West Bank, where at least 140 Palestinians have been killed this year, most by Israeli fire.

More than 30 Israelis have also been killed amid a spate of gun and knife attacks by Palestinians.

Jawad Rimawi, 22, and Thafer Rimawi, 21, who were students at Birzeit University, were killed on Tuesday about 16km (10 miles) north-west of Ramallah.

Palestinian sources said the brothers had visited a relative in the village of Beit Rima as Israeli forces carried out an operation in the area.

As the forces withdrew, confrontations broke out with dozens of young Palestinians, who threw stones and petrol bombs at them, the sources added.

The Palestinian health ministry said the brothers were shot and taken to a local hospital, where they died.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that a "riot was instigated by a number of suspects" during a "routine" overnight activity.

"The suspects hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails toward the soldiers, who responded with riot dispersal means and live fire," it added.

Earlier, Mufeed Ikhlil, 44, was shot in the head by Israeli troops during clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians in Beit Ummar, about 10km north of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said. He died in hospital.

Nine other Palestinians were shot, according to the ministry.

The IDF said two army jeeps got stuck in Beit Ummar due to "technical malfunctions" during a patrol.

The troops in the vehicles were attacked by Palestinian "rioters" who "hurled rocks and improvised explosive devices at the soldiers", it added.

West Bank-based Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called the three killings an "ugly crime", while the spokesman of President Mahmoud Abbas warned that "the daily killing of Palestinians is a declaration of war".

A spokesman for the militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said Israel's "escalation of its crimes and terrorism will be met with an escalation of resistance".

In another incident in the West Bank on Tuesday, a 20-year-old woman was seriously injured after being hit by a car near the settlement of Kochav Yaakov in what the IDF said was a suspected ramming attack.

The driver, whom Israeli media identified as a 45-year-old Palestinian man, was shot by police after a chase.

It come five days after co-ordinated bomb attacks at bus stops on the outskirts of Jerusalem killed a 15-year-old Israeli-Canadian boy and a 50-year-old Israeli man. Thirteen other people were wounded.

So far, no group has claimed it was behind the twin bombings, which were praised by Palestinian militants.

On Monday, the UN Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, warned that the conflict was "again reaching a boiling point".