Palestinian rights lawyer, 2 teens killed in Israel-West Bank violence

A Palestinian lawyer and two teenagers were killed Wednesday, the fifth day of Israeli raids in the West Bank following a spate of deadly attacks in the occupied Jewish state, reports AFP.

Israel has poured in additional forces and is reinforcing its wall and fence barrier with the occupied territory after four deadly attacks have claimed 14 lives in Israel, most of them civilians, in the past three weeks.

Wednesday's deaths bring to 18 the number of Palestinian fatalities in the ongoing escalation.

The Palestinian health ministry said human rights lawyer Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Assaf, 34, "died after being shot in the chest by the Israeli occupation army during the aggression on the city of Nablus", in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli army did not confirm its forces had shot the lawyer.

In the evening, the ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a teenager "during their aggression on Husan", in the southern West Bank.

The army said in a statement that soldiers shot a Palestinian suspect who had "hurled a Molotov cocktail" at them, adding that troops "used live ammunition in order to stop the immediate threat".

A community leader in Husan told AFP the deceased was 16-year-old Qusai Hamamrah.

Hundreds of Palestinians were rioting in the area following the incident, the army said.

Shortly after, the health ministry announced the death of Amer Elyan, who it said was killed by "a live bullet in the chest" fired by the Israeli army following an operation in Silwad, with six other Palestinians wounded.

Local residents told AFP Elyan was 18 years old.

Israeli forces did not immediately report clashes in the area.

The death came after police said their special forces arrested a Palestinian in Kubar and three others in Silwad -- both villages north of Ramallah -- who were planning an attack on Israelis.

The Shin Bet internal security agency said the Kubar suspect, identified as Moath Hamed, had escaped Palestinian custody where he was being held for his role in murdering an Israeli in 2015.