Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian medics said, as Israel continued its crackdown on Islamist group Hamas, blamed for abducting three Israeli youths. Israeli soldiers carrying out raids in the city of Nablus fired at stone-throwing Palestinians, killing Ahmad Famawi, 26, residents and medics said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report. Israel has said its West Bank operation is twofold - to find Gil-Ad Shaer and U.S.-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, who went missing near an Israeli settlement on June 13, and to deal a substantial blow to Hamas. Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, has neither denied nor confirmed involvement in the disappearance of the youths. The military says it has searched some 1,350 sites in the West Bank and detained more than 330 Palestinians. The raids have triggered street clashes in which three Palestinians have been killed. In Ramallah, the de-facto Palestinian capital, Palestinian security forces opened fire after residents tried to set fire to a police car, following street confrontations with Israeli soldiers, witnesses said. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the kidnapping but has also said the Israeli military sweep amounts to collective punishment. Before dawn, Israel also carried out air strikes on four sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after militants launched three rockets from the territory into Israel on Saturday. No casualties were reported on either side. Source : Reuters
