OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, Palestine: Three Palestinians were killed early Thursday by special Israeli forces who were on an arrest mission in the northern West Bank.
One of the Palestinians killed was suspected of having carried out a shooting attack against Israeli soldiers, an Israeli security official said.
The other two were members of the Palestinian Authority security forces who witnessed the initial exchange of fire.
An Israeli security official claimed that special forces were in Jenin seeking “to arrest two terrorists who had carried out a shooting attack.”
“One Palestinian who opened fire on the forces was shot dead,” he said.
The Palestinian health ministry identified him as Jamil Al-Amuri.
The Israeli further claimed that after the initial incident, Palestinians at the scene “opened fire on the Israeli forces,” and in an ensuing exchange, “two additional Palestinians were killed.”
Palestinian security officials identified the two as members of the Palestinian Authority’s military intelligence department, Adham Eleiwi and Taysir Issa.
Israeli forces frequently carry out arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. On May 25, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian during one such raid near Ramallah.
Israeli forces frequently carry out arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. On May 25, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian during one such raid near Ramallah.
Violence in the West Bank increased in early May, with at least 30 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces and alleged attacks, amid a flare-up in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem that led to 11 days of fighting in and around Gaza between Israel and the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
The May 10-21 military escalation saw Hamas firing rockets into Israel in response to what it considered provocations in Jerusalem against the Palestinian population.
Israeli strikes killed 260 Palestinians, including 66 children and some fighters, and wounded more than 1,900 people, the Gaza health ministry says.
