By Ali Sawafta
QABATIYA, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli forces raided a town in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, killing two Palestinians and detaining several others in what the army described as an operation to preempt militant attacks.
The West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen a surge in violence since the outbreak of the war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
During the raid in Qabatiya, troops surrounded a building where two gunmen were holed up, exchanging fire with them, the army said. The two Palestinians were killed and witnesses saw the body of one them being lifted out by an armoured bulldozer.
There was no immediate word from Palestinian officials on the dead men or possible militant affiliations. The army described them as “senior terrorists” without specifying what faction they might have belonged to, adding that weapons were seized in the raid.
Several Palestinians were detained elsewhere by troops, who also “exposed explosives planted into roads which were intended to be used to attack the forces,” the army statement said.
A soldier was wounded during exchanges of fire, it added.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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