The China Mail - Israeli forces kill two Palestinians as British-Israeli buried

Violence has surged in the region over the last week, with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter coinciding.

"I commend the actions of the soldiers who eliminated two terrorists who opened fire on them near Elon Moreh" a Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter.

He added the troops had "prevented an attack on Israeli civilians".

A senior Palestinian official told AFP that he had been informed of the death of the two Palestinians, who were not immediately identified.

In a statement, the Israeli army said "armed assailants fired shots from a vehicle at the Elon Moreh post."

Soldiers "fired toward the vehicle and neutralised two armed assailants," it added.

The army said it had seized two M-16 rifles and a handgun.

The incident came as thousands of mourners gathered Tuesday at an Israeli settlement in the West Bank for the funeral of a British-Israeli woman killed in a shooting attack days earlier.

Israelis holding national flags lined the roads in the rain leading to the funeral for Lucy Dee in Kfar Etzion, in the southern West Bank.

- 'Appalling attack' -

The 48-year-old, also known by her Hebrew name Leah, died Monday from wounds sustained three days earlier when her car came under fire in the Jordan Valley.

Two of her children, sisters aged 16 and 20, were shot dead in the attack and buried on Sunday.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in a statement, labelled the killings "abhorrent" and added "the UK condemns this appalling attack on civilians".

He said Britain urged "all sides to de-escalate tensions in Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, and end the deadly cycle of violence."

A surge of violence has been triggered since an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, followed by rocket fire from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and a car-ramming in Tel Aviv that killed an Italian tourist.

On Monday, Palestinian mourners gathered near Jericho city for the funeral of a 15-year-old boy who was shot dead by Israeli forces during a raid in the Jordan Valley.

The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.

These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Q.Yam--ThChM