Middle East latest: 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in occupied West Bank, officials say

The Palestinian Health Ministry says two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank overnight and into Wednesday.

A 23-year-old man was shot dead in Tulkarem and a 25-year-old man was killed in a strike on Jenin, where Israel launched a large operation earlier this month.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its reports. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. The ministry says over 800 Palestinians have been killed. Most appear to have been militants killed in battle during Israeli arrest raids, but the dead also include people killed during violent protests, as well as civilian bystanders.

There has also been an uptick in settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis since the start of the war.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.

___

Here's the latest:

Kremlin says Russian visit to Syria was important for building dialogue

MOSCOW — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that a Russian delegation’s visit to Damascus the day before, the first since the fall of former President Bashar Assad, an ally of Russia, was “an important trip" for building dialogue with Syrian authorities.

Peskoy refused to comment on reports that the Syrian authorities demanded that Moscow pay some kind of compensation to Syria or on unnamed sources claiming another demand was to extradite Assad, who fled to Russia and was granted asylum there.

“I am leaving this without any comment. We will continue the dialogue with the Syrian authorities,” Peskov said in a response to a reporter's question.

Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported Wednesday that the discussions had included “Russia’s role in rebuilding trust with the Syrian people through concrete measures such as reparations, reconstruction and recovery." It said the talks were also on “transitional justice mechanisms aimed at ensuring accountability and justice for the victims of the brutal war waged by the Assad regime.”

Israeli authorities say they arrested 12 Palestinians in east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities say they have arrested 12 Palestinians in east Jerusalem who celebrated the release of prisoners under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Israel’s internal Shin Bet security service and the police said they arrested the men late Tuesday after videos taken earlier in the week showed the men celebrating the release of the prisoners by waving Hamas flags and firing guns into the air.

They say the Palestinians who celebrated the release had violated the ban on “expressions of joy” and “identification with Hamas” that Israel has imposed since the ceasefire took hold. They said a search revealed Hamas flags, posters, fireworks, a BB gun and cash.

Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas is releasing 33 hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in exchange for the release for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including some serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

Palestinians generally view the prisoners as heroes imprisoned for fighting against Israel’s decades-long occupation of lands they want for a future state.