Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants who carried out a deadly attack on a bus in the West Bank earlier this month.
The Israeli military said Thursday that the two men barricaded themselves in a structure in the West Bank village of Burqin and exchanged fire with Israeli troops before they were killed overnight. The army said a soldier was moderately wounded.
The military said Mohammed Nazzal and Katiba al-Shalabi were operatives with the Islamic Jihad militant group.
The Hamas militant group released a statement claiming the two men were members of its armed wing and praising the bus attack. Hamas and the smaller and more radical Islamic Jihad are allies that sometimes carry out attacks together.
The Jan. 6 attack on the bus carrying Israelis killed three people and wounded six others.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
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Israel's ambassador to US says the 2 countries are discussing Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon
JERUSALEM 鈥 Israel鈥檚 ambassador to the United States says the two countries are in talks about the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as a deadline with Hezbollah militants approaches. Israeli media have reported that Israel is seeking to postpone the completion of its pullout.
Michael Herzog said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Thursday that he believed Israel would 鈥渞each an understanding鈥 with the Trump administration, without elaborating.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces are supposed to complete their withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday.
Israeli media have reported that Israel reached an understanding with the Biden administration on staying longer but that President Donald Trump is urging it to withdraw on time.
There was no immediate comment from the United States.
Israeli officials have said Lebanese troops are not deploying fast enough in the areas Israeli troops are supposed to vacate. Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to patrol a buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside United Nations peacekeepers.
Hezbollah has threatened to resume its rocket and drone fire if Israel does not withdraw on time.
Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
The Al Jazeera news network says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters after preventing him from covering .
The Qatar-based news network reported Thursday that its reporter, Mohammed al-Atrash, was arrested from his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had earlier prevented him from reporting on a large Israeli military operation in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority in the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel accuses it of being a mouthpiece of Hamas and says some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has rejected the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. , with critics portraying it as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.
Israel鈥檚 Netanyahu will probably visit Trump in the next few weeks, official says
UNITED NATIONS 鈥 Israel鈥檚 ambassador to the United Nations believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington to meet President Donald Trump 鈥渋n a few weeks.鈥
Danny Danon told reporters Wednesday: 鈥淚鈥檓 sure he would be one of the first foreign leaders invited to the White House.鈥
Danon said he expects their discussions to include the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas鈥 Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.
