Israeli tank shells and heavy machinegun fire pounded Palestinian neighborhoods in Hebron today in the most intensive fighting in the West Bank town since the start of the Palestinian uprising six months ago.
The Israeli army said it opened fire after spotting two armed Palestinians in an area where gunmen had shot recently at a Jewish settlement.
"An Israeli military force spotted two armed Palestinians in the Abu Sneineh neighborhood this afternoon and fired at them," the army said in a statement. "After the soldiers fired, the Palestinians fired at an army position in the Jewish settlement, causing no casualties or damage."
Hospital sources said 17 people were wounded, two of them seriously with bullet wounds.
