Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank clashes

NABLUS (AFP) ― Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in a clash in the West Bank, medics said Thursday, hiking tensions ahead of the burial of a Palestinian prisoner who died in jail.

The clashes late on Wednesday in the northern town of Tulkarem came after two days of violent protests and a general strike following the death of Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh, a prisoner serving life in Israeli jail who was suffering from cancer.

The army said troops opened fire at “rioters who hurled petrol bombs” at a military post there.

Palestinian security officials said Amer Nassar, 16, was hit by a bullet to the head, and the body of his 17-year-old cousin Naji Balbisi was discovered near an army checkpoint at first light on Thursday, with wounds to the chest.

Both teenagers were to be buried after midday prayers.

With Palestinian anger at boiling point, Gaza militants fired a mortar shell at southern Israel early on Thursday, public radio said.