At least 3 Palestinians killed by Israeli military
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Palestinians throw stones during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Jenin.
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- At least three Palestinians were killed Saturday by Israeli soldiers during the latest round of violence in Gaza and the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources, while Palestinians claimed a 15-year-old boy also was shot dead.
Israeli forces on Saturday had started an action to shut down an explosives lab inside the West Bank city of Jenin, according to Israeli military officials, when the troops were pelted by crowds of young stone-throwers.
Military officials said the Palestinian crowds threw stones and other objects in an attempt to block them from reaching the weapons factory, which they eventually found. Soldiers destroyed a large amount of explosives and two bomb belts.
Palestinian security sources in Jenin said the Israeli forces opened fire on the stone-throwers, killing a 19-year-old man and wounding two other people, including an 8-year-old who sustained serious injuries to his head and neck.
Israeli military officials said they returned fire when Palestinian gunmen fired at them. They said the 19-year-old who was killed had tried to open the door of an Israeli armored vehicle. The officials said he was a member of Hamas, a militant Islamic group that has claimed responsibility for terror attacks on Israeli civilians.
Israel: No knowledge of anyone being hit
The Palestinian sources said Israeli armored personnel carriers and jeeps entered the village of Burkin, near Jenin, and opened fire on stone-throwers there, killing a 15-year-old boy. The Israelis said their troops fired warning shots but they have no knowledge of anyone being hit.
In northern Gaza, Israeli troops early Saturday shot and killed two Palestinians seen crawling toward the border fence with Israel near the settlement of Nahal Oz, Israeli military officials said.
Troops did not find weapons on the bodies but were searching the area in case the two had planted explosives, a common occurrence in the area, the officials said.
On Friday, Israeli soldiers in Jenin captured an Islamic Jihad leader believed to be responsible for planning a number of suicide bombings, including the blast last month at Haifa's Maxim restaurant that killed 21 Israelis, Israeli military sources said Friday. He is Amjad Abeidi.
Military sources said that after Abeidi's arrest, the Israeli forces were shot at and returned fire, killing a gunman Palestinian security sources identified as Mohammed Abu Nijmeh, 20.
