At least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire Thursday in the West Bank city of Nablus. Two Israeli soldiers were also wounded.
In the first incident, two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead, Palestinian hospital officials said. They were shot in the Balata refugee camp.
Israel said the two were shot after they were seen throwing Molotov cocktails at soldiers. However, relatives claimed they were unarmed. Palestinian sources added that several other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire.
In a separate incident later, Naim Abu Saris, 24, an Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades fighter, was shot dead by occupation troops in the Balata refugee camp. He was apparently armed. Three other Palesinians, members of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, were shot dead in other incidents during the raid. Some sources claimed a sixth Palestinian died by Israeli fire in the afternoon.
Al Aqsa activists threatened to retaliate against Israel with a "hard, painful response." "Israel has opened the on itself the gates of hell… any talks of calm in the situation do not obligate us," a spokesman for the group said.
Earlier, Palestinian gunners fired five Qassam rockets at the western Negev Thursday morning. The Qassams landed in open areas. No injuries or damages were reported in the attack, Ynetnews reported.
On Wednesday night, another rocket fired by Palestinians landed in the same area.
