Israeli police shoot dead 2 Palestinians

JERUSALEM: Israeli security forces on Friday killed two Palestinians and wounded a third after the trio had opened fire on a base in the occupied West Bank, police said, the latest flareup in violence after clashes in east Jerusalem.
The exchange of gunfire at the Salem base outside the northern West Bank town of Jenin came as tensions soar in annexed East Jerusalem over an eviction threat hanging over four Palestinian families.
Tamir Pero, spokesman of Israel’s border police, said Palestinian attackers armed with rifles began running toward officers and shooting.
Pero said the officers “took cover behind concrete blocks and returned fire,” killing two attackers and critically wounding a third before any officers were injured.
Guns, knives and a large supply of ammunition were found on the men, police said.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel “not a country, but a terrorist base,” and in a televised speech said that fighting the Jewish state was “everyone’s duty.”
Friday’s killings follow days of clashes and shootings. On Sunday, a 19-year-old Israeli was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting at the Tapuah junction bus stop, also in the northern West Bank.
Israeli security forces announced they had arrested Montasser Shalabi, 44, near Ramallah, on suspicion of carrying out the attack. Palestinian sources said Shalabi is a dual US national.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops killed a 16-year-old Palestinian when they opened fire on protesters throwing petrol bombs near Nablus.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement: “We hold the Israeli government responsible for this escalation and its repercussions.” He urged Washington to pressure Israel “so that matters do not reach a stage that cannot be controlled.”