Israeli forces kill two in West Bank

Israel's ambulance service says two men wounded by gunshots in the incidents but did not identify them

JERUSALEM:

Israel's military on Saturday said its forces killed two people in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, after one infiltrated an Israeli settlement and another shot at soldiers after his car exploded.

Israel's ambulance service said two men were wounded by gunshots in the incidents. It did not identify them.

"Terrorists attempted to run over a security guard at the entrance to the community Karmei Tzur a short while ago and infiltrated the community," the military said, referring to an Israeli settlement.

Soldiers who arrived at the scene killed one assailant who had opened fire at them and were searching for others, it said.

In another incident, a car caught fire and exploded in a gas station, the military said.

It said forces sent to the scene "shot and eliminated the terrorist who exited the vehicle and tried to attack them."

The military said it was too soon to know if the incidents were related.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas issued a statement on Saturday praising what it called a "double heroic operation" in the West Bank, saying it "is a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continue".

The group, however, did not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.

Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before the war in Gaza, has escalated recently, with stepped-up Israeli military raids and settler and Palestinian street violence.