Roundup: Flaring day of Israeli-Palestinian violence leaves 3 Palestinians killed

A flaring day of Israeli-Palestinian violence has left on Friday two Palestinians and one Jordanian killed and three more injured in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, according to official medical sources, eyewitnesses and Israel Public Radio.

On late Friday afternoon, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian young man in the West Bank city of Hebron's old city, according to the Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) statement.

Israel Public Radio reported that the young Palestinian man was killed by Israeli soldiers right after he stabbed an Israeli soldier in the neighborhood of Tal Rumeida in the city.

The Palestinians didn't refer to the fact that the Palestinian young stabbed an Israeli soldier and wounded him.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian man and critically wounded his fiancee while they were in a car driving near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, official medical sources said.

The PNA health ministry said in a statement that the man, who drove a car was killed and his fiancee who sat next to him was critically wounded.

However, Israel Public Radio quoted Israeli army sources as saying the pair were killed after they attempted to drive over Israeli settlers.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Palestinian with Jordanian nationality was shot dead at the entrance to Damascus Gate in the old city in east Jerusalem, according to eyewitnesses and Israeli Radio.

The eyewitnesses said that one of the Israeli soldiers stationed at Damascus Gate has suddenly opened fire at the young man and killed him, while Israeli Public Radio reported the man was holding a knife and ran towards the soldier.

Nabil Abu Rdineh, PNA presidency spokesman, said in a statement that the PNA strongly condemns the killings by the Israeli soldiers.

"These crimes, which took the lives of more Palestinians, again proved that the Israeli government is determined to carry on with its policy of escalation and ignoring diplomatic and peaceful efforts," he said.

The spokesman added that these incidents are a clear Israeli response to the international efforts that aim at getting out from the stalemate status of the situation.

He called on the international community for an immediate intervention "to stop these crimes, ensure an immediate protection to our people and stop the Israeli policy of field executions."

The Palestinian consensus government, headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, also condemned the Israeli killings.

Yousef al-Mahmoud, spokesman of the Palestinian government said that the government calls on the United Nations Security Council to ensure an immediate protection to the Palestinian people.

Islamic Hamas movement spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri in Gaza said that "our Palestinian people are forced to escalate the confrontations with the Israeli occupation."

"Such field executions would never break our people's determination," said Abu Zuhri, adding that "the blood of those martyrs will be the fuels" for the battles against the soldiers and the settlers until all their lands are "liberated."

Since last October, a wave of tension has been flaring up between Israel and the Palestinians, mainly in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Official figures said that 227 Palestinians and 40 Israelis so far have been killed. Endit