Aftermath of a shooting attack in Tamra city, which lies in the northern district of the Israeli-occupied territories.  (Photo: Twitter)

Ramallah, February 2 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have shot and killed three young Palestinians during overnight raids of several areas of the occupied West Bank and confrontations with the residents.

Two of the two victims lost their lives when they were shot by Israeli police forces in the al-Fawqah neighborhood of Tamra city, which lies in the northern district of the occupied territories, late on Monday, Palestinian media reported.

Explaining the crime, Israeli police claimed in a statement that they were dealing with an incident, in which two masked men had fired shots at a house in the al-Fawqah neighborhood.  Israeli forces then opened fire randomly in the area, killing two passersby and wounding two others.

Al-Zahrawi Medical Center stated that 4 people had suffered injuries in the incident, of whom two succumbed to their serious gunshot wounds shortly afterwards.  The condition of two other Palestinians has been described as serious and moderate.

It became clear later that one of the victims was university student Ahmed Hegazy, who was together with a friend at the time of the shooting and had nothing to do with the incident.  Clashes then broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces, who fired stun grenades as well as tear gas canisters in return to disperse the crowd.

Tamra municipality also held an emergency meeting and a general strike was declared in the city, starting from Tuesday.  The development took place only hours after 33-year-old Palestinian Adham Fouad Bzeih was shot and critically wounded in the city of Nazareth.