Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian gunmen today who had opened fire on a military outpost near a Jewish settlement in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, the Israeli defense minister and a senior Palestinian official said.

“Their successful operation prevented an attack against Israeli civilians,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallad said in a statement.

“I congratulate the soldiers who neutralized two terrorists who had opened fire on them near Elon Moreh,” a Jewish settlement located near the Palestinian city of Nablus, he tweeted.

Earlier the army announced that its forces had “neutralized two armed assailants”, while a senior Palestinian official told AFP that he had been informed of the deaths of the two Palestinians, whose identities have not been released at this time.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has intensified this year, with frequent Israeli military raids amid many Palestinian attacks. More than 90 Palestinians, most of them fighters from armed organizations but also civilians, have lost their lives, as have at least 19 Israelis and foreign citizens, since January.

Tensions are especially high as the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims and the Jewish Easter coincide.