4 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank

At least four Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army during overnight military raids on Sunday in the Jenin and Jerusalem areas of the occupied West Bank, reports Aljazeera. 

Mohammad Hleil, spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry, confirmed to Al Jazeera the killing of three Palestinians from the village of Biddu, northwest Jerusalem, who were identified by their families as Ahmad Zahran, Mahmoud Hmaidan and Zakariya Badwan.

Israeli occupation forces also killed a resident from the village of Burqin, southwest of Jenin city, Hleil confirmed, who was identified as 22-year-old Osama Soboh.

Hleil said there are reports of a fifth Palestinian who was killed, but that they have not received confirmation yet.

He added that the bodies of the three Palestinians from Biddu are in Israeli army custody.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Soboh was killed after Israeli forces raided Burqin and surrounded one of the homes, leading to a gun battle with the army.

Zahran, was killed during a confrontation with the Israeli army after it raided the town of Beit Anan, near Biddu.

An Al Jazeera correspondent said two Israeli soldiers were wounded during the exchange of fire. Israeli media said the army raids aimed to arrest “Hamas operatives”.

Raids and arrests were also reported in the Jenin villages of Kufrdan and Ya’bad.

While Israeli military operations in West Bank towns and villages are a near-daily reality. Over the past few months, army raids in the Jenin area have been met with live-fire by Palestinian residents.

Last month, the Israeli army killed four Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp during an operation that led to armed confrontations.