3 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank as raids intensify
Tuesday's attacks follow killing of 3 Israelis near Jewish settlement a day earlier
Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinian militants in stepped-up operations across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday following the killing of three Israelis near a Jewish settlement, the Israeli military said.
Israeli and Palestinian officials said two of the people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tamun, a town northeast of Nablus, while the third was shot in a firefight in the nearby village of Taluza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified one of the people killed in Tamun as an 18-year-old and the person shot in Taluza as a 40-year-old whom Hamas's armed al-Qassam Brigades later confirmed was one of its fighters.
The Israeli military said the Tamun strike against two fighters came after a clash with militants in the area. It also said several people it identified as militants were arrested in various other confrontations in the West Bank.
One Israeli soldier was severely wounded during an exchange of gunfire and was evacuated to hospital, the military said.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA, meanwhile, reported that Jewish settlers seeking revenge against Palestinians had set fire to a vehicle overnight and attacked a Palestinian village.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified in parallel with the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with killings by Palestinian militants, increased Israeli military raids and airstrikes and a rise in attacks by Jewish settlers.
Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed as a result.
In the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian Authority security forces have been carrying out an operation against local armed militant groups for the past month as Palestinian factions have also clashed.
The bloodshed poses another obstacle for international mediators trying to seal a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in Gaza before U.S. president-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Following the killing of three Israelis on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior military and security officials. He approved a series of "offensive and defensive actions" in the West Bank as well as measures to capture those who killed the Israelis.
WAFA said the Israeli military was setting up more checkpoints and road closures, and conducting increased incursions and raids.
The West Bank has been occupied since it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Palestinians want it to be part of a future independent state, but expanding Jewish settlements and the Gaza war have complicated the situation amid fears that Israel plans to formally annex the territory.