NABLUS: Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian, claiming that they fired at troops in the occupied northern occupied West Bank near Nablus, the army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued.
The military said that “gunmen opened fire” at an army position near the Jit junction west of Nablus, with the soldiers responding with “live fire”.
“Three armed gunmen were neutralized during the exchange of fire and an additional armed gunman surrendered himself to the forces,” the army said in a statement, noting none of the Israeli forces were wounded in the clash.
The soldiers, members of the elite infantry Golani reconnaissance unit, grabbed three M-16 rifles and a pistol used by the Palestinians, the army said.
Violence intensified last year but has worsened in the occupied West Bank since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in December in a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies.
The government of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption on charges he denies, has vowed to continue the expansion of occupied West Bank settlements.
