The Israeli police reported today, Sunday, that security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli police statement indicated that special forces "interrupted a group from the Jenin camp that was on its way to launch an attack." It added that the head of an armed cell, "involved in military operations against Israeli security forces and the advanced military activities conducted by terrorists in the Gaza Strip," was killed along with two other members of the cell. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security forces, stating that Israel "will continue to act against those who target our lives anywhere and at any time."
In response, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem asserted that "their killing will not go unpunished," and that "the occupation will not escape paying the price for its crimes." He added in a statement, "The Zionist enemy commits a new crime by assassinating three of our Palestinian people in Jenin, escalating its continuous aggression and terrorism against our people." He emphasized that "this escalation by the Zionist enemy targeting our people and their sanctities confirms the necessity of serious efforts to formulate a practical national plan to confront the occupation, involving all national entities in a program to confront the terrorism of the settler government."
The electronic site of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, reported that an Israeli special force opened "heavy fire towards a Palestinian vehicle carrying resistance members near the Araba roundabout south of Jenin in the northern West Bank." It noted that "this crime coincides with the systematic assaults by settler militias against our people, indicating the implementation of what is known as the 'Conflict Resolution Plan' in a practical path." The movement also vowed revenge, with spokesperson Tarek Salmi stating, "The enemy will soon realize that its foolishness and terrorism will be met with a strong response from the resistance."
