JERUSALEM: Zionist forces on Sunday hunted a Palestinian suspected of killing a 18-year-old military policewoman in east Jerusalem, an attack that left another Zionist in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the head. The shooting at a checkpoint by the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat in Zionist entity-annexed east Jerusalem came amid spiralling violence in the Zionist-Palestinian conflict. Hours earlier, two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead in a Zionist raid in the West Bank, as the United Nations warned that "mounting violence" in the occupied Palestinian territory was "fuelling a climate of fear, hatred and anger".

Police said the alleged Shuafat gunman, a 22-year-old Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem, was driven to the checkpoint by an accomplice. He got out of the car, opened fire and ran into the camp as the driver sped away. The dead Zionist soldier was identified as Noa Lazar.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday his "heart" was "broken" by her death. "We won't rest until bringing the despicable murderers to justice," Lapid said before Jews were set to mark the Sukkot holiday. Another Zionist, a 30-year-old man, was taken to Hadassah hospital in serious condition after being shot in the head, the medical centre said in a statement. Two additional border officers were lightly wounded by shrapnel, police said.

Police cordoned off the area near the checkpoint and officers remained at the entrance and exit of east Jerusalem. Three Palestinians in their 20s from east Jerusalem were arrested on suspicion of "involvement in the attack", police said.

'Devastating consequences'

Earlier Saturday, two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead in an operation by Zionist forces in Jenin, the northern West Bank flashpoint city. The Palestinian health ministry announced the killing of "two citizens by occupation (Zionist) bullets in Jenin", as Zionist troops carried out an arrest there. Eleven others were wounded.

The ministry named those killed as Ahmad Daraghmeh, 16, and Mahmud as-Sous, 18. The Islamic Jihad militant group praised the teenagers as "its martyrs". Zionist's military said troops had entered Jenin to detain a 25-year-old Palestinian it said was a member of Islamic Jihad and suspected of shooting at troops in the area.

"During the activity, dozens of Palestinians hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails at IDF (Zionist military) soldiers and shots were fired at them," an army statement said, adding that soldiers had targeted "armed suspects". In response to attacks on Zionist civilians earlier this year, Zionist's army has been conducting near daily raids in the West Bank that have left dozens of both Palestinian fighters and civilians dead.

Following the latest deaths in Jenin, the Palestinian presidency called on Washington to "exert serious pressure on Zionist to stop its all-out war against our Palestinian people". Zionist action "will push matters towards an explosion and a point of no return, which will have devastating consequences for all", said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for president Mahmud Abbas, in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The agency also reported Zionist forces had fired directly at journalists during the Jenin raid. Two reporters were wounded Wednesday while covering a military operation witnessed by an AFP journalist near the West Bank city of Nablus, in which one Palestinian was killed. In May, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering a Zionist raid in Jenin.

'Deteriorating situation'

Saturday's violence in Jenin came a day after two other Palestinian teenagers were shot dead by Zionist forces, according to the health ministry-Adel Dawoud, 14, killed in the northern West Bank, and Mahdi Ladadweh, 17, killed near the city of Ramallah.

The UN envoy for Middle East Peace, Tor Wennesland, voiced alarm at "the deteriorating security situation", saying at least 100 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank this year, "including children, amid a significant increase in Israeli military operations".

Zionist has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and around 475,000 Israelis now live in settlements across the territory, which are considered illegal by most of the international community. They live alongside some 2.8 million Palestinians, who in different areas of the West Bank are subject to Israeli military rule or live under limited Palestinian governance. - AFP