JAKARTA - Israeli forces killed a Hamas militant and another Palestinian in clashes near Jenin City in the occupied West Bank on Monday, triggered when soldiers came to destroy the homes of two armed men, Palestinian sources said.
Deaths in Kafr-Dan Village were the first for Palestinians since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office last week as head of the far-right coalition.
Israeli troops confirmed carrying out an attack to knock down the homes of two Palestinians who killed one of their commanders in the West Bank last year, before they were shot dead.
Forces shot Palestinians in Kafr-Dan who attacked them with gunfire, stones, and Molotov cocktails, soldiers said in a statement. There were no Israeli casualties in the incident.
Hamas, an Islamic group that runs the Gaza Strip and has followers in the West Bank, claims one of the Palestinians who died, is a 17-year-old member.
In a statement, Hamas, who rejected coexistence with Israel, vowed to "chase resistance and confront terrorism and fascism from the new occupational government".
There was no immediate news whether the second Palestinian to be killed and around 21, had any faction affiliates.
In Kafr-Dan, Hani Abed, the father of one of the armed men who died in the September 14 clashes, described Israel's destruction as a "collective punishment".
"This will not break our determination," he told Reuters while standing near the rubble of his home.
Last year, there was the worst level of violence in the West Bank in more than a decade, mostly concentrated around Nablus and Jenin's closest city, with at least 150 Palestinians and more than 20 Israelis killed.
Di Ramallah, Perdana Menteri Palestina Mohammad Shtayyeh, menganggap Israel bertanggung jawab at setiap escalasi yang dapat diakibatkan oleh "aksi pembunuhan dan serangan harian".
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