Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed three Palestinians on Thursday morning in two separate incidents in the West Bank.Troops killed two Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants early Thursday morning in a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, local residents and Palestinian medical officials said.
Later Thursday morning, troops shot dead a Palestinian near the Qalandiyah refugee camp north of Jerusalem. According to an IDF spokesperson, troops fired on the man after he tried to cut the West Bank separation fence and infiltrate Israeli territory.
The two militants were shot dead during a clash in the city's old city that erupted when IDF forces accompanied by jeeps and bulldozers opened fire on a group of gunmen. Hospital officials identified the two as Amer Kalboni and Wael Awad, both 21. An IDF source confirmed that "a force identified two gunmen and fired at them during an operation in Nablus." Troops discovered a Fatah weapons factory in the area, along with a 5-kilogram explosive device, and detonated it in a controlled manner. Troops also found additional materials used for the construction of bombs.
IDF troops also shot a 35-year-old Palestinians near the Gaza security fence, who according to Palestinian sources was moderately wounded. According to the army, troops identified a man sabotaging the fence in the northern Gaza Strip, and shot him in the legs after he ignored calls to leave the area.
On Wednesday, IDF troops seriously wounded a Palestinian woman during the arrest of her husband, a wanted Islamic Jihad militant, in a refugee camp in Nablus. Undercover IDF soldiers from an elite unit arrived at the family's home with the objective of arresting Nasser Juwabra, an activist in the Islamic Jihad movement, suspected of involvement in the planning of several foiled suicide bombings. According to an initial investigation, the 27-year-old woman was wounded when special forces used a small explosive device to break down the militant's door. The door apparently struck the woman after it was flung by the force of the blast. IDF medics treated the woman at the scene and she was then evacuated by helicopter to an Israeli hospital for treatment. Her husband was taken into custody.
On Tuesday, security forces detained 22 Palestinians in the West Bank, 18 of whom were arrested in the Nablus area. The IDF has mounted several raids in the West Bank since a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three people in the resort city of Eilat on Monday. The bombing was claimed by both Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades