Israeli troops kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank gun battle

Israel forces killed three Palestinian militants in a firefight in the occupied West Bank early Saturday. Israeli military and security authorities said that the three men killed in the arrest operation were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group who were responsible for recent attacks on Israeli targets and were preparing to carry out a gun attack in Israel.ensions have soared in recent days after Palestinian assailants killed 11 Israelis in separate attacks across the country.  In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ramadan has often been a period of increased friction and confrontation.In response to the recent Palestinian attacks, more Israeli forces were sent to the West Bank in recent days for increased searches, patrols and arrest raids.Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi had instructed the IDF to prepare for a “month of escalation,” and ordered an extensive deployment of Israeli security forces in the West Bank and inside Israel.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described the killings as “a horrific crime committed outside the law, whose perpetrators must be held accountable before the International Criminal Court.” With Saturdays deaths, seven Palestinians were killed over three days, including two in a gun battle Thursday and one after he stabbed and wounded an Israeli on a bus in the West Bank. Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders have held a flurry of talks in recent weeks, and Israel has made a series of goodwill gestures, all aimed at calming tensions ahead of Ramadan.

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