Israeli forces kill three Palestinian militants in West Bank

Security agency says armed men were killed while inside a vehicle in a clash with security forces

Israeli security forces have killed three Palestinian militants that officials said carried out recent shootings in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The Shin Bet internal security agency said the armed men were killed on Tuesday while they were inside a vehicle during a clash with security forces. No Israelis were harmed in the shooting, it said. The deaths were confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Pictures shared online show the three men posing with assault rifles, with one wearing a headband of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a coalition of armed groups loosely tied to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party.

The militant group called the men “heroic martyrs” and vowed revenge in a statement circulated on a Fatah-affiliated social media group. It identified them as Ibrahim Al Nablusi, Adham Mabrouk and Mohammed Al Dakhil.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, condemned the shootings and called for an international investigation.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz congratulated the security forces and said he had recently ordered that security in the area be stepped up.

“We will continue our proactive operations, and we will thwart and catch anyone who tries to harm human life,” he said.

Palestinians carry the body of one of three men killed by Israeli forces in Nablus. AFP

Recent weeks have seen several stabbing and shooting attacks by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli settler was shot dead near a settlement outpost in December.

Settlers have also carried out a number of attacks against Palestinians and Israeli activists, causing injuries and property damage but no fatalities.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israel War. Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the territory, alongside more than 2.5 million Palestinians.

The Palestinians view the settlements as the main obstacle to peace and most of the international community considers them illegal. Israel regards the West Bank as the biblical and historical heartland of the Jewish people.

Peace talks ground to a halt more than a decade ago, but the Palestinian Authority and Israel co-operate on security and other matters.