Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinians during arrest sweeps in the West Bank early Wednesday, Palestinian witnesses and the army said.

The violence was the most recent in three years of bloodshed during a Palestinian uprising in which at least 2,301 Palestinians and 844 Israelis have died.

In the West Bank town of Tulkarm, soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian gunman who opened fire on troops, said an army spokesman who identified the dead man as an activist from the militant Hamas group which is responsible for many suicide bombings.

In Nablus, an Israeli army unit arresting a group of wanted Palestinians shot and killed a Palestinian threatening them with a pistol and a second man who refused to surrender to troops, an army spokesman said.

The army said 19 Palestinians wanted for militant activity were arrested during the night in the West Bank, 11 at the place in Nablus where the two Palestinians were killed.

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