Jerusalem (EFE).- Three Palestinians died today in the occupied West Bank by shots from the Israeli Army after opening fire against a group of soldiers in the city of Nablus.
As reported by an Israeli military spokesman, “a vehicle with three armed terrorists arrived in the Hashomronim neighborhood of Nablus and opened fire on soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who were conducting routine activities in the area. The soldiers responded with shots to neutralize the three terrorists.”
The Army has specified that the three attackers died during the incident and that their troops did not suffer injuries.
For its part, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli troops prevented ambulance access to the site and took the bodies of the deceased.
The vehicle from which they opened fire was also confiscated, along with three M-16 rifles, a pistol and military equipment, according to information from the Army.
More than 160 Palestinians killed this year
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant congratulated the soldiers for their performance during this episode and for “eliminating three terrorists.”
“Congratulations to the commanders and soldiers for a determined and precise action,” said the minister through his Twitter account.
This incident follows a series of major raids carried out on Monday by the Israeli military in the West Bank in which at least 13 Palestinians were injured, four of them by gunfire.
During yesterday’s operation, the Israeli army said it had neutralized 10 explosive devices and arrested 17 “suspects”.
In addition, a military spokesman reported that Palestinians threw explosives at the troops, who responded by opening fire.
The occupied West Bank is experiencing its biggest spiral of violence since the Second Intifada (2000-2005).
So far this year, 166 Palestinians have been killed, most of them militants, in armed clashes with Israeli troops and attackers, but also civilians, including 28 minors.
In parallel, the area has seen the proliferation of new Palestinian armed groups, which carry out more and more attacks and have left 27 dead on the Israeli side, most of them settlers, five of them minors, and 3 uniformed men.