<p>Three Palestinians were killed Friday morning and eight others wounded in an operation by Israeli forces in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.</p>.<p>The three men were killed when Israeli forces, who have increased their operations in the area in recent months, opened fire on the vehicle in which the men were travelling.</p>.<p>"Fierce clashes" were happening in the area at the time, according to Wafa.</p>.<p>An AFP photographer at the scene saw the bodies of the three young men at the morgue, as well as a white vehicle riddled with bullet holes.</p>.<p>The Israeli army said in a brief message in Hebrew that it was conducting an operation in Jenin to locate weapons from two different locations.</p>.<p>Their soldiers came under gunfire as they arrived at the first location and retaliated, the army said.</p>.<p>They added that a suspicious vehicle was seen on the side of the road on their way to the next place.</p>.<p>"Shots were identified towards the soldiers who thwarted the terrorists' plans to target them," the army said, adding that they found weapons, including two M-16 assault rifles and cartridges at the scene of the clashes.</p>.<p>The Israeli army has ramped up raids in and around the occupied West Bank's Jenin camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions.</p>.<p>Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent TV reporter with Al Jazeera, was shot dead last month in Jenin while she was covering an Israeli army operation.</p>.<p>The Palestinian Authority, Al Jazeera and Qatar, where the channel is based, accused the Israeli army of killing the journalist.</p>.<p>A Palestinian probe said the reporter -- who was wearing a bullet-proof vest with "press" written on it and a reporting helmet when she was shot -- was shot dead in what it described as a war crime.</p>.<p>Israel has denied the allegations, arguing that she could have been killed by a Palestinian gunman, but later said it could not rule out the possibility that it was Israeli soldiers.</p>
<p>Three Palestinians were killed Friday morning and eight others wounded in an operation by Israeli forces in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.</p>.<p>The three men were killed when Israeli forces, who have increased their operations in the area in recent months, opened fire on the vehicle in which the men were travelling.</p>.<p>"Fierce clashes" were happening in the area at the time, according to Wafa.</p>.<p>An AFP photographer at the scene saw the bodies of the three young men at the morgue, as well as a white vehicle riddled with bullet holes.</p>.<p>The Israeli army said in a brief message in Hebrew that it was conducting an operation in Jenin to locate weapons from two different locations.</p>.<p>Their soldiers came under gunfire as they arrived at the first location and retaliated, the army said.</p>.<p>They added that a suspicious vehicle was seen on the side of the road on their way to the next place.</p>.<p>"Shots were identified towards the soldiers who thwarted the terrorists' plans to target them," the army said, adding that they found weapons, including two M-16 assault rifles and cartridges at the scene of the clashes.</p>.<p>The Israeli army has ramped up raids in and around the occupied West Bank's Jenin camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions.</p>.<p>Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent TV reporter with Al Jazeera, was shot dead last month in Jenin while she was covering an Israeli army operation.</p>.<p>The Palestinian Authority, Al Jazeera and Qatar, where the channel is based, accused the Israeli army of killing the journalist.</p>.<p>A Palestinian probe said the reporter -- who was wearing a bullet-proof vest with "press" written on it and a reporting helmet when she was shot -- was shot dead in what it described as a war crime.</p>.<p>Israel has denied the allegations, arguing that she could have been killed by a Palestinian gunman, but later said it could not rule out the possibility that it was Israeli soldiers.</p>