RAMALLAH, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces near the town of Osarin in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank on Thursday night, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Ramallah-based ministry in a brief statement identified the killed victims as Jihad Adham Abdullah Adili, 17, and Saif Ghassan Jabr Adili, 19.

The Israeli forces stormed Osarin amid heavy firing of live bullets, and confrontations broke out in the area, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

Another 20-year-old Palestinian was injured with a bullet in the knee, WAFA said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Thursday night that during IDF "activity" in the area of Osarin, its soldiers identified three "terrorists" who hurled rocks toward vehicles on the highway and endangered the lives of the passengers.

"The soldiers fired toward the terrorists to remove the threat, eliminating two terrorists and injuring one," it added. ■