2 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli settlers, soldiers in West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed on Friday during clashes with Israelis in two separate incidents in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, reported Xinhua.

Qusai Ma'tan, 19, died after he was shot by Israeli settlers during clashes in the village of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, while two other Palestinians were moderately injured, the ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out in Burqa between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli settlers who stormed the village.

During clashes in the Noor Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Mahmoud Abu Sa'an, 18, died after he was shot by Israeli soldiers in the head, according to the ministry.

The clashes broke out in the refugee camp after an Israeli army force stormed the area to arrest Palestinians wanted by Israeli security forces, said Palestinian eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said its soldiers shot at Palestinians who threw stones and explosives at them.

Speaker of the Palestinian National Council Rawhi Fattouh said in a press statement that he condemned what he termed "the execution of Abu Sa'an by the occupation soldiers," holding the Israeli government accountable for "the escalation against Palestinian people."

Since January, 26 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and more than 200 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures.