At least two Palestinians were killed Thursday when Israeli military forces carried out a raid in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Palestinian ministry named the two men killed as Abdul Rahman Atta, 23, and Huthaifa Faris, 27, saying they had died as a result of "occupation (Israeli) bullets" near Tulkarem.
The army, on the other hand, claimed soldiers had been engaged in a shootout and five police officers were wounded in an explosion during a separate clash, confirmed by Hamas.
According to Israel's military the alleged gunfight erupted after soldiers identified a "suspicious vehicle" near the area's Shufa village.
The Palestinian group Hamas announced the two Palestinians killed were members of its armed wing.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces "prevented our crews from treating them and took them away" from the scene at a Shufa checkpoint.
Following the shootings, Palestinians gathered on a road around bloodstains which had been marked out by leaves arranged in a heart shape on the ground.
Violence also rocked the Tulkarem refugee camp during a raid by Israeli forces, who were met by angry protesters.
The military claimed to engage in "an exchange of fire" and as they withdrew from the camp, five Israeli police officers were wounded in an explosion.
Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups said their members ambushed Israeli forces in Tulkarem, using improvised explosives devices (IEDs).
They "detonated a number of IEDs against the vehicles storming (the camp), then engaged in clashes" at close range with the Israeli forces, Hamas said in a statement.
A surge in violence has hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
There has been a rise in army raids and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
So far this year at least 245 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
