Five Palestinian gunmen killed in West Bank clashes
Shootout follows Israeli crackdown on Hamas militants
Israeli military said that troops involved in arrests in the West Bank came under attack as Palestinian gunmen fired on soldiers.
At least five Palestinian gunmen were killed in shootouts with Israeli security forces during a sweeping West Bank arrest operation cracking down on the militant group Hamas yesterday, the Israeli military said.
The violence was the deadliest between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks and came amid heightened tensions following this year’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinians were shot dead near the northern West Bank city of Jenin and three others were killed in Biddu, north of Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that Israeli security forces in the West Bank operated against Hamas operatives “that were about to execute terror attacks in the very immediate future.”
He said that the soldiers in the field “acted as expected of them” and said his government gave them full support.
The Israeli military said that troops involved in arrests in the West Bank came under attack as Palestinian gunmen fired on soldiers. It declined to provide further information.
Hamas said yesterday’s killing was “the result of the continuing coordination” between the internationally recognised Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the Israeli government.