Two Palestinians killed after attack on army post
IDF braces for resurgence of violence in wake of fatalities and ahead of funeral for prisoner who died in Israeli custody
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The body of a second Palestinian, apparently shot by Israel Defense Forces soldiers as they came under attack at a checkpoint, was discovered on Thursday morning when troops canvassed the area of the clash.
The two fatalities, one of whom was said to be 17-year-old Amer Ibrahim Nassar, were shot during the same incident on Wednesday night when a group of Palestinians began throwing Molotov cocktails at an IDF checkpoint near the Palestinian town of Anabta, near Tulkarem and close to the Israeli settlement of Einav.
The soldiers returned fire, and according to Mohammed Ayyad, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, Nassar was hit in the chest.
A third Palestinian was evacuated to a hospital in Tulkarem, and more may have been hit as well, according to reports.
A soldier was also injured in the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital. His condition was not immediately clear. The IDF said it is investigating the incident.
The two deaths will likely stoke already heightened tensions in the West Bank, where low-level violence has been raging since the death of a Palestinian prisoner of cancer on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with IDF soldiers at locations throughout the West Bank, in response to the death the previous day of prisoner Maysara Abuhamdia.
Dozens of Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails and stones in Hebron and burned tires in the central square before the soldiers dispersed them. An IDF officer was lightly injured.
Israeli civilian vehicles also came under attack on roads in the West Bank as Palestinians hurled rocks at cars traveling to and from settlements.
The IDF was bracing for a resurgence of violence on Thursday ahead of the funeral of Abuhamdia in Hebron.
