RAMALLAH, Monday, March 04, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli forces shot and killed early today two Palestinians and injured a third at the entrance of Kufr Nimeh village, west of Ramallah, in what the Israeli army claims was a car ramming attack.

Reports said Israeli soldiers opened fire at a car that hit two soldiers at the entrance of the village killing two and injuring a third.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Israel informed the Palestinians of the death of two Palestinians and injury of third but said their identity was not immediately known.

Mayor of Kufr Nimeh, Khaldoun al-Deek, told WAFA that preliminary information suggest that Israeli forces opened fire towards three Palestinians in a vehicle that was on its way out of the village for purportedly ramming into a number of soldiers deployed near the entrance of the village, killing two and injuring the third.

He added that following the fatal shooting, Israeli forces seized the vehicle and detained a local resident identified as Yousef Mahmoud al-Deek.

Israeli media reported that soldiers had stopped on the side of the road near the entrance to the village when they were “attacked.”

They said two soldiers were evacuated to hospital reported in moderate condition.

The circumstances surrounding the killing remain unclear and largely based on the Israeli version of events.

Israeli has been criticized for its reflexive use of lethal force and “extrajudicial killings” against Palestinians. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that circumstances surrounding such killings over the past months remain disputed.

Various international, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations have slammed Israel’s policy of “extrajudicial killings” against Palestinians.

Video footages for similar alleged attacks appear to disapprove Israeli military claims, showing alleged Palestinian attackers did not even attempt to carry out any attacks. Some footage showed Israeli forces manipulating the crime scene following such killings.

[Updated on 10:30 am: The Ministry of Health identified the two killed as Amir Mahmoud Daraj, 20, from Kharbatha al-Misbah, and Yousef Raed Anqawi, 20, from Beit Sira. The wounded was identified as Haytham Basel Alqam, from Safa, all in the Ramallah area.

Reports said the three worked as night guards at Nor al-Huda school in Beitunia, next to Ramallah.]

K.F./M.K.