Three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops on Monday morning after they allegedly carried out two consecutive attacks near an illegal Israeli settlement in the southern occupied West Bank in which four Israeli soldiers were injured.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians after they opened fire at Israelis waiting at a bus stop near the settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron.

Witnesses said two Palestinians in a Peugeot 504 pick-up truck tried to shoot at Israelis at the bus station and that Israeli troops fired back at them, killing them immediately.

Shortly afterwards, she added, a car ran into a military vehicle in a “ram attack,” and Israeli soldiers shot and killed the driver.

The Israeli army said one soldier was wounded in the shooting attack, while two soldiers and an officer were wounded in the second altercation. She said they were evacuated to a hospital and were believed to be in moderate condition.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the Palestinians as Qasem Farid Jaber and Ameer Fuad al-Junaidi from Hebron, and Yousef Mustafa Tarayra,18, from the town of Bani Naim east of Hebron.

Palestinian Red Crescent spokeswoman Errab Foqoha told Ma’an that Israeli forces barred a medical team from her organization from accessing the scene.

(MAAN)