Three Palestinians died on Thursday (9) when they were shot by members of the Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the Palestinians first opened fire on the police and praised the security forces for having “eliminated the despicable terrorists”.
The three Palestinians, aged 26, 25 and 22, died in the town of Jaba, near the city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Palestinian government identified the three as Sufian Fakhoury, Nayef Malaysha and Ahmed Fashafsha.
Israeli police said special forces, backed by soldiers, were in Jaba to detain suspected gunmen in the region.
According to the police, among the suspects were Fakhoury and Fashafsha, who were also militants of the Islamic Jihad armed group.
“During the operation, shots were fired at the plainclothes border police from the car of the wanted men,” police said.
“The plainclothes border police responded with gunfire and killed three gunmen in the car,” added the security force, which also identified Malaysha as an alleged militant in the group.
“Weapons and explosive devices were found in the vehicle,” the statement said.
The Islamic Jihad group condemned Israel for the “cruel murder” in Jaba.
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