A Palestinian protester hurls a stone as he stands next to his national flag during clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank town of Tulkarem yesterday.

Agencies
Jerusalem


Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian attackers in separate incidents yesterday, police said, part of the worst wave of violence in the region since the 2014 Gaza war.
In the latest incident, a Palestinian drew a knife and tried to attack paramilitary border policemen at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, police spokesman Luba Samri said. They shot him after he ignored calls to stop and was later declared dead, he said.
In Jerusalem, security guards shot a 37-year-old Palestinian who ran at them with a knife near the walled Old City, Samri said. The hospital where the Palestinian was taken said he later died of his wounds.
A Palestinian bystander was hurt by a stray bullet, Samri added.
Moments earlier, a short distance away, two Palestinian boys aged 12 and 13 stabbed a guard on a tram, Samri said. The guard shot back at them and a hospital spokeswoman said one boy was seriously wounded. Police said the other was taken into custody. Israel Radio said passengers helped overcome the boys.
Seventy-five Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli security forces since October 1, including 44 people Israeli police said were carrying out attacks, while 12 Israelis have been killed.
Palestinian militants have called for a knife “intifada”, or uprising, against Israel and many of the assailants have been teenagers.
Israel security forces arrested 24 suspected members of Hamas in overnight raids in the northern West Bank, the army said yesterday.
The raids targeted a suspected Hamas network in Qalqilya, a town just over the Green Line from Israel that is partly surrounded by Israel’s controversial separation barrier.
“The heads of the network, who ran the regional headquarters, were operating to renew Hamas activity in the area and plotting terror activity,” the army said.
Those detained included “senior Hamas operatives who have been previously arrested for participating and planning Hamas terror activity”, it said, adding that around $9,000 had been seized.
Palestinian security officials confirmed the overnight raids.