Three Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces

Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during a raid.

Medical sources said that at least 15 others were wounded, six of them seriously, during clashes between the Israeli forces and Palestinians that erupted after the dawn raid on Monday.

An Israeli police spokeswoman told AFP news agency that the officers were on a raid to catch a "terror suspect" when more than 1,500 Palestinians poured into the streets and attacked them with firebombs and rocks.

She said Israeli forces used riot-control munitions - a term that usually refers to rubber bullets and tear gas.

It was not clear if the Israelis made any arrests.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah condemned the raid. "Such a crime proves the need for an urgent and effective international protection for our people,'' he said in a statement.

Israeli forces often enter Palestinian-administered territories to detain individuals.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority recently resumed US-brokered peace talks after a long halt last month. However, both sides have not expressed much optimism about a major breakthrough.

The latest violence casts a cloud on another round of talks expected later in the day.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the beginning of 2013. Israeli forces have killed 14 Palestinians in the occupied territory this year, most of them in clashes, compared with three killed in the same period in 2012.

Most recent was killed in Jenin refugee camp in a similar arrest raid less than a week ago.