Rare Israeli drone strike kills three Islamic Jihad terrorists in West Bank
'Israel will bear responsibility for their stupid decision to strike these operatives with drones and keep their bodies,' terror group warned.
A rare Israeli drone strike killed three Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank on Wednesday.
The IDF said soldiers “identified a terrorist cell inside a suspicious vehicle, after the cell carried out a shooting adjacent to the town of Jalamah (near Jenin in the West Bank).”
“The terrorist cell carried out a number of shooting attacks toward communities in Judea and Samaria lately. Following the identification of the terrorist cell, an IDF UAV fired toward the cell and thwarted them,” the IDF added.
Rare Israeli drone strike kills 3 Palestinians in the West Bank- 2 members of Islamic Jihad and one member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. pic.twitter.com/hzQAHFuWLa
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) June 22, 2023
The three were identified as Suhaib al-Ghoul, 27, Ashraf a-Saadi, 17, and Muhammad Awais, 28.
Al-Ghoul and a-Saadi were members of Islamic Jihad while Awais was an operative in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Bridge.
“Israel will bear responsibility for their stupid decision to strike these operatives with drones and keep their bodies,” Islamic Jihad said following the targeted killing.
Hamas also commented on the drone strike, calling it a “dangerous escalation that won’t pass without a response from the Palestinian people or resistance forces.”
The use of drones to assassinate militants in the West Bank hasn’t been used since 2006, according to the IDF.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the IDF will take an “offensive and proactive approach to combat terrorism, we will use all the means at our disposal and we will exact the heaviest price from every terrorist or terrorist emissary.”
The targeted killing comes as violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank escalated in the past week.
On Monday, major clashes erupted after IDF arrested a Hamas and Islamic Jihad operative near Jenin when improvised explosive devices (IED) targeted Israeli military vehicles, leaving seven Palestinians killed, as well as 91 Palestinians, five Israeli Border Police forces and two IDF soldiers injured.
On Tuesday, two members of Hamas carried out a terror attack near the settlement of Eli in the West Bank, killing four Israelis at a restaurant and a gas station.
Dozens of settlers embarked on a revenge rampage that same night, setting fire to cars, fields and property in Palestinian villages. The rampage continued on Wednesday, with hundreds of settlers burning over 60 cars and 30 homes in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya.
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