Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian gunmen after they opened fire on troops in the occupied northern West Bank, the army said on Sunday. The exchange began when the gunmen fired at an army position near the Jit junction west of Nablus, prompting the soldiers to respond with live fire. During the clash, three armed gunmen were neutralised and a fourth surrendered. No Israeli forces were wounded. The soldiers, members of the elite Golani reconnaissance unit, seized three M‑16 rifles and a pistol used by the Palestinians.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that three men were killed by Israeli gunfire near Nablus, but provided no further details. The incident occurred close to an Israeli settlement, and the head of the regional Samaria settler council praised the army for “taking out the murderous terrorist squad operating in the area.” Yossi Dagan, in a statement, declared, “We will continue to live and build here in Samaria and the entire region; the murderous Palestinian Authority terror won’t deter us,” using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which has been occupied since 1967.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in December, forming a coalition with ultra‑Orthodox and extreme‑right parties. Netanyahu, who faces a corruption trial he denies, has pledged to continue expanding West Bank settlements. The escalation follows a series of recent attacks: on Thursday, a Hamas armed‑wing member opened fire outside a Tel Aviv café, wounding three men in their 30s before being shot dead. Earlier that day, three armed Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank. Several Palestinian armed groups had called for revenge on Tuesday after six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid in the same area.
The Tel Aviv attack came hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged de‑escalation ahead of Ramadan and Passover. Following talks with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a brief visit to Israel, Austin called on the Palestinian leadership to combat terrorism, resume security cooperation, and condemn incitement.
In Beitar Illit, a Jewish settlement southwest of Jerusalem, Israeli bomb‑disposal experts detonated a suspicious package found on a bus on Thursday evening. A Palestinian from a nearby village was arrested on Saturday for placing the explosive device, along with four others suspected of assisting him.
Since the start of the year, the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict has claimed 81 Palestinian lives, including militants, civilians, adults and children. Twelve Israeli civilians—among them three children and one policeman—plus one Ukrainian civilian have also been killed, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
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