Palestinians shot dead in West Bank clashes

At least Palestinians were shot and killed during clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday as deadly violence over the past two months continues.

Yahya Taha, 21, from the village of Qattaneh near Ramallah, died after he was shot and wounded in the head during clashes, a Palestinian health ministry statement said, referring to an area .

Samer Hassan Soreisi, 51, allegedly tried to stab Israeli border police in the northern West Bank on Thursday but was shot dead before harming anyone, Israeli police said.

“An attacker got out of a taxi with a knife” at Tapuach junction near Nablus, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement. “Forces responded by firing shots at him, resulting in his death.”

North of Hebron, 20-year-old Khaled Jawabrah was shot dead during clashes with Israeli forces in al-Aroub refugee camp.

The deaths come a day after a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces after stabbing and seriously wounding an Israeli soldier in the West Bank.

Unrelenting violence erupted in October over tensions surrounding a sensitive Jerusalem holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

At least 99 Palestinians and 21 Israelis have been killed. 

More than 800 Palestinians have been arrested over the past two months, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon told public radio on Thursday.

Attempts to ease the tensions – including a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday – have so far proved unsuccessful.

Palestinian political and activist groups, including Hamas, have called for a “day of anger” for Friday.