Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: The "shooting operation" took place in the town of Huwara, south of the city of Nablus, on Tuesday, the Palestinian Information Center news agency reported.

The agency attributed the operation to "Palestinian resistance fighters." Other outlets said the al-Fajr Brigade, which is associated with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades -- a coalition of West Bank-based Palestinian resistance groups -- had claimed responsibility for the incident.

Israeli media sources, meanwhile, said one of the settlers was in a "critical condition," while the other had been "moderately injured."

The fighters managed to flee the scene, the sources added, saying that Israeli military reinforcements had been deployed to the area to conduct a comprehensive search operation in pursuit of the fighters.

The West Bank has been witnessing a surge in such resistance operations in reaction to the Israeli regime's and its illegal settlers' incessant instances of deadly aggression against the Palestinians, and their near-daily violations against Palestinian properties and holy sites.

The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas, which is based in the nearby Gaza Strip, commended the operation.

Spokesman Hazem Qassem said the successful operation showed that the Palestinian fighters in the West Bank would continue resisting the Israeli occupation.

The operation coincided with the anniversary of the Israeli regime's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, he reminded. Qassem stressed that "this reflects the Palestinian people’s ability to resist the Israeli occupation until there will be no place for the invaders," the Palestinian Information Center reported, citing his remarks./Mehr news