The Israeli army said on Sunday that three Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli fire in the occupied northern West Bank near Nablus. The military said that “gunmen opened fire” on an army post west of Nablus, prompting a “live fire” response from the troops stationed there.
None of the Israeli soldiers were hurt in the exchange of fire, and the army reported that three armed gunmen were neutralized and another armed gunman surrendered to the IDF. According to the Israeli military, men of the special infantry Golani reconnaissance unit captured three Palestinian M-16 rifles and a handgun.
Neither Palestinian medical personnel nor security officials were aware of the incident. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s returned to government in December as part of a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right partners after a year of rising violence in the West Bank. Netanyahu’s administration has sworn to keep expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite the fact that he is now on trial for corruption accusations he rejects.
On Thursday, a gunman affiliated with the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas opened fire outside a Tel Aviv café, wounded three men in their thirties before being himself killed. On that day, an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians who were armed.
On Tuesday, many Palestinian armed organizations had called for vengeance against Israel over the recent murder of six Palestinians in an Israeli army operation in the northern West Bank. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had appealed for a calming of tensions in front of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month beginning in March, and Passover, the Jewish festival beginning in April, but the assault on Tel Aviv occurred only hours after.
After meeting with Netanyahu and his Israeli colleague Yoav Gallant, Austin urged the “Palestinian leadership to battle terrorism, to reestablish security cooperation, and to denounce incitement” during a quick visit to Israel. On Thursday night, the army said that bomb disposal specialists had exploded a suspicious item spotted on a bus in Beitar Illit, a Jewish town in the West Bank southwest of Jerusalem.
The army claims that on Saturday, they apprehended a Palestinian from a neighboring hamlet who they believe was responsible for planting the bomb on the bus, as well as four others who they believe helped him. Since the beginning of 2018, 81 Palestinians, including terrorists and civilians, have lost their lives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to a calculation by AFP based on official sources from both sides, twelve Israeli civilians, including three children and one policeman, and one Ukrainian civilian had been killed within the same time period.
The Tel Aviv strike occurred only hours after Pentagon commander Lloyd Austin urged for a de-escalation ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in March, and the Jewish festival of Passover, which takes place in April. The army stated Thursday evening that bomb disposal specialists exploded a suspicious item spotted on a bus in Beitar Illit, a Jewish town in the occupied West Bank southwest of Jerusalem.
According to the army, a Palestinian from a neighboring hamlet was detained on Saturday for placing an explosive device on the bus, along with four others accused of assisting him. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinian adults and children, including terrorists and civilians, since the beginning of the year. According to an AFP count based on official sources from both sides, twelve Israeli civilians, including three children and one police officer, as well as one Ukrainian civilian, had been killed over the same time.
SOURCE: The Journal, gulf news