JENIN: Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, medical officials said, as a months-long wave of violence continued.

The Israeli military said its soldiers had operated around the city of Jenin, which has been at the epicentre of many of the recent clashes, looking to arrest two Palestinian men suspected of involvement in “terrorist activity”.

During the arrest raid, it said soldiers were “targeted with direct fire and responded with live fire, hits were identified”.

Three Palestinians were killed, medical officials said. Islamic Jihad claimed one of them as a member and his body was seen wrapped in the militant group’s flag at his funeral. Residents told Reuters two of the dead men were known in the city as armed fighters. The third man was a civilian who was passing by at the time of the shooting, residents said.