CLASHES IN WEST BANK, GAZA LEAVE 4 DEAD

Security forces kill four Palestinians during clashes in West Bank, Gaza (JPost)
Two Palestinians were killed and one wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Border Police who were operating in a West Bank village in search of Palestinian fugitives. Among the dead is an 11-year-old boy, Palestinian officials said.

Elsewhere, the IDF killed two Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip after they opened fire at a military force.

In the West Bank, Mahmoud Ibrahim Karnawi, 11, was shot after troops moved into Saida village, witnesses said. They said the troops were trying to arrest his older half-brother, a wanted Islamic Jihad operative, and came under fire as they approached the family's home, setting off a gunfight.

Neighbors said the boy was inside the home at the time of the shooting and hit in the crossfire. Hospital officials in the nearby town of Tulkarem confirmed the death. The IDF said that it was unclear at this point whether the boy died from Israeli gunfire or not, Israel Radio reported.

Relatives said the boy lived in Israel with his parents - a divorced Palestinian woman who is now remarried to an Arab Israeli. The family was visiting relatives in the West Bank at the time of the shooting, the relatives said.

Border Police said its forces came under fire during an operation, sparking an exchange of fire in which two Palestinians were killed and another gunman was seriously wounded. It said one of the dead was a gunman, but did not immediately have details on the identity of the second.

A member of the border police was lightly wounded and treated at the scene, the army said, adding that troops confiscated two AK-47 rifles and ammunition.

Meanwhile, Golani Brigade troops killed two Palestinian gunmen near the northern Gaza Strip's Karni Crossing after they opened fire at the force.