Two Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire during raid in Nablus

PA official condemns destruction of homes during military operation in West Bank city

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  A Palestinian Red Crescent volunteer stands back as fire breaks out in clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Old City of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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  Palestinian rescue teams rush to the scene of clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Old City of Nablus. AFP

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  People gather at the scene where two Palestinian militants were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in Nablus. Reuters

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  The house where the militants were hiding was hit by Israeli gunfire. AFP

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  A burnt-out car in Nablus. Reuters

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  Palestinian Red Crescent rescuers rush to move the wounded to safety after the gun battle. AFP

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  A Palestinian boy inspects the damage to the gable end of a house after Palestinian gunmen were killed in the early morning Israeli military raid. AP

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  Smoke billows from a house during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Old City of Nablus. AFP

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  The father of Abdul Rahman Sobh is surrounded by relatives and mourners outside a hospital in Nablus following the killing of the 28-year-old Palestinian in confrontations with Israeli troops in the old quarter of the city in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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  A house ransacked by Israeli forces in the raid in Nablus. Reuters

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  Palestinians survey the aftermath. Reuters

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  Local residents and reporters gather round gunmen holed up in a house in the Old City, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area. AFP

Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus in the early hours of Sunday. Four others were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent identified the men as Aboud Sobh, 29, and Mohammad Al Azizi, 22. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group claimed both those killed were members.

Israeli police said security forces came under fire during an arrest raid and "responded with live fire and other means until neutralising the terrorists inside the house and on its roof".

The Israeli military said four people were arrested.

A neighbour, Naser Estitya, 60, said he heard gunshots from inside the house before Israeli forces fired heavily at the building. "They were calling the name of one person, asking him to surrender," he told Reuters.

Photos from the scene showed part of the wall at the top floor was destroyed.

Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al Sheikh condemned the attack.

"Another crime committed by the occupation forces in the old city of #Nablus, where martyrs have fallen and many wounded," he wrote on Twitter.

"There was also destruction of homes and burning of property. We strongly condemn this crime, and we hold the occupation responsibility for its repercussions," said Mr Al Sheikh, who is also and secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's executive committee.

Israeli forces have been carrying out near-daily raids in the West Bank in recent months, after men from the occupied Palestinian territory carried out a series of deadly attacks in Israel.

The military has faced armed resistance in some of the raids, which in several instances have turned deadly.

The western-backed Palestinian Authority regularly condemns such incursions.