Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants who carried out a deadly attack on a bus in the West Bank earlier this month.The Israeli military said Thursday that the two men barricaded themselves in a structure in the West Bank village of Burqin and exchanged fire with Israeli troops before they were killed overnight.

Israel’s military said Thursday it killed two Islamic Jihad militants who were involved in a deadly attack on a bus in the West Bank earlier this month. The Israel Defense Forces said its troops killed the militants in the village of Burqin amid an exchange of fire after the militants had barricaded themselves in a building.

As Israel withdraws some of its troops from Gaza during a cease-fire there, it has turned attention to another Palestinian territory — in particular a city with a history of militant activity.

Palestinians returned home in Gaza amid a ceasefire, while Israeli forces launched a major operation in Jenin, killing two Hamas militants involved in a recent attack. View on euronews

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Escalations in one area frequently spill over, raising further concerns that the second and far more difficult phase of the Gaza ceasefire — which has yet to be negotiated — may never come.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault on Jenin would be “extensive and significant,” as the military erected new checkpoints across the West Bank.