AFP/Ramallah
Relatives of Moatassem Adwan, one of two Palestinians shot dead by Israeli soldiers yesterday, mourn during his funeral in Qalandiya
Two Palestinians were shot dead overnight by Israeli soldiers in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank, Palestinian medics and security officials said yesterday.
Moatassem Adwan, 22, and 23-year-old Ali Khalifa, were killed by soldiers as they carried out arrests in the camp on the road from Ramallah to Jerusalem.
An official from the Fatah movement said Israeli troops entered the camp at around 3.30am and arrested one youth before clashes broke out, with young men throwing stones at soldiers.
The soldiers then opened fire on the stone-throwers, killing two, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Palestinian intelligence sources said the two “were taken to the Ramallah hospital at dawn. One of them was shot in the head and was martyred immediately. The second was martyred shortly afterwards.”
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops carrying out an arrest operation in Qalandiya refugee camp.
She said five soldiers were injured in the confrontations but could not confirm that any Palestinians had been killed in the incident.
Hours after the deaths, thousands of mourners packed into Qalandiya for the funerals of the two men.
Palestinian officials harshly criticised the Israeli military and called for an immediate investigation.
“Residents of Qalandiya camp were preparing themselves for the first day of Ramadan and going to the dawn prayers, when they were met by Israeli forces which violently stormed the camp to conduct illegal arrests and kidnapping of residents,” a statement by the Palestinian Government Media Centre said.
“Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a message of greetings to the Arab and Muslim world on the start of the holy month of Ramadan. His greetings were shortly followed by a deadly attack against Palestinians.”
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina condemned the killings in a statement to government news agency Wafa, calling them “an Israeli attempt to escalate the situation before September.”
Meanwhile the UN Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East, Robert Serry, expressed concern over the killings and urged Israel to investigate the incident.