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Two Palestinian gunmen, Israeli army officer killed in West Bank clash

Two Palestinian gunmen, Israeli army officer killed in West Bank clash

Palestinian militants

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian gunmen on Wednesday in a clash near the boundary with the occupiedWestBankin which an army officer was also killed, a military spokesman said.

TheWestBank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen a surge of violence in recent months as Israel has intensified raids following a spate of lethal Palestinian street attacks in its cities.

Before dawn on Wednesday, the military spokesman said, troopsintercepted two men spotted approaching an Israeli barrier along theWestBankboundary near Jenin, a Palestinian town that has seen near-nightly friction between the sides.

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The men opened fire, killing an army officer, and were shot dead by the other troops, the military said.

The Jenin Brigade, a coalition of armed Palestinian factions, claimed the two dead gunmen as its members and confirmed they had killed an Israeli army officer.

US-sponsored Palestinian statehood talks with Israel stalled in 2014. Since then, the Palestinian Authority (PA), created under interim peace accords to wield limited self-government in theWestBank, has seen its domestic credibility wane.

Israel has called on the PA to crack down on hotspots like Jenin. PA officials accuse Israel of having weakened their rule.

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